mnuhaily22
March 30th, 2007, 13:15
My sister and I have decided to hold an anti-bulimia campaign, after thoroughly researching this topic, we understand that it is a worldwide problem and cannot be simply solved through our attempts, but we also want to make a difference, however small it is.
This essay was prepared by my sister regarding this subject. It's long but everyone should know this, so please pass this information on and continue our thread regarding bulimia:
If one were to define bulimia, they could say that it was a “psychological condition in which the subject engages in recurrent binge eating followed by an intentional purging” (wikipedia.com). But really, it is a condition that is tearing thousands of families apart, ruining seemingly perfect lives, and essentially building up an image of perfection for millions of girls all over the world that will, one day, explode all over our ignorant denial of this subject. Our unconscious hatred of anything imperfect nowadays is not only becoming a worldwide problem, but a secret that bulimic girls have to live with every moment of their mostly short lives. Perfection, they believe, is only a few yards away, waiting to be grabbed up and embraced forever. This is impossible and saddening.
Bulimia is very serious and is becoming one of America’s top teenage problems. Girls who suffer from bulimia were not born with this disease; they develop it as they grow and it is even believed that a hormonal imbalance of testosterone can cause this horrible condition. But mostly it is caused by the increasing feeling of helplessness in these girls’ lives that makes them so desperate to control just one thing: their weight. Bulimia has nothing to do with food; it is all about control and has nothing to do with a feeling of pleasure during binging episodes. It is often the opposite: bulimic patients say that they have no control whatsoever over their eating habits, especially during these daily binging periods. They simply cannot stop and immediately after these episodes they feel disgusted; they consume laxatives, diuretics, tapeworms or enemas to get rid of the food inside their bodies.
The consequences of bulimia nervosa are so very real and most of all, shocking. Often girls with bulimia suffer from: malnutrition, dehydration, damaging of the voice, gum disease, laxative dependence, callused or bruised fingers, low blood pressure, high blood pressure, hypertension, anemia, hormonal imbalances, hyperactivity, depression, insomnia, infertility, high risk pregnancy, miscarriage, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, weakness and fatigue, cancer of the throat or voice box, liver failure, kidney infection and failure, heart failure, seizure, paralysis, potential death caused by heart attack or heart failure; lung collapse, internal bleeding, stroke, kidney failure, liver failure, and suicide. These are only about thirty-five of sixty conditions listed that bulimic patients may come down with, due to continuous binging and purging.
Ten out of one hundred bulimic individuals die after a lifetime of concealing the disease from their family and loved ones. Treatment for this disease includes serious medication and psychotherapy, but is also long-term and must be closely followed over a long period of time by a physician to confirm that the symptoms of bulimia do not return after the patient completes treatment.
Bulimia will always be a problem in our modern societies. Perfectionism, traumatic childhood events, and high social status can cause bulimia, but most of all, it is us, who will readily admit that we are depressed, insane, or even suffering from fatal diseases, but we cannot, and never will, tell anyone that we have a problem being perfect, a hole in our road to this so-called perfection. Why? Because it is simply unexplainable.
Thank you for your time and please consider making an effort to stem this vital problem.
EDIT: Sorry about the bad poll, the correct one should be a) Have you ever known/met someone who is bulimic and b) if you have, have they gotten help, if you havn't, then answer as no...
This essay was prepared by my sister regarding this subject. It's long but everyone should know this, so please pass this information on and continue our thread regarding bulimia:
If one were to define bulimia, they could say that it was a “psychological condition in which the subject engages in recurrent binge eating followed by an intentional purging” (wikipedia.com). But really, it is a condition that is tearing thousands of families apart, ruining seemingly perfect lives, and essentially building up an image of perfection for millions of girls all over the world that will, one day, explode all over our ignorant denial of this subject. Our unconscious hatred of anything imperfect nowadays is not only becoming a worldwide problem, but a secret that bulimic girls have to live with every moment of their mostly short lives. Perfection, they believe, is only a few yards away, waiting to be grabbed up and embraced forever. This is impossible and saddening.
Bulimia is very serious and is becoming one of America’s top teenage problems. Girls who suffer from bulimia were not born with this disease; they develop it as they grow and it is even believed that a hormonal imbalance of testosterone can cause this horrible condition. But mostly it is caused by the increasing feeling of helplessness in these girls’ lives that makes them so desperate to control just one thing: their weight. Bulimia has nothing to do with food; it is all about control and has nothing to do with a feeling of pleasure during binging episodes. It is often the opposite: bulimic patients say that they have no control whatsoever over their eating habits, especially during these daily binging periods. They simply cannot stop and immediately after these episodes they feel disgusted; they consume laxatives, diuretics, tapeworms or enemas to get rid of the food inside their bodies.
The consequences of bulimia nervosa are so very real and most of all, shocking. Often girls with bulimia suffer from: malnutrition, dehydration, damaging of the voice, gum disease, laxative dependence, callused or bruised fingers, low blood pressure, high blood pressure, hypertension, anemia, hormonal imbalances, hyperactivity, depression, insomnia, infertility, high risk pregnancy, miscarriage, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, weakness and fatigue, cancer of the throat or voice box, liver failure, kidney infection and failure, heart failure, seizure, paralysis, potential death caused by heart attack or heart failure; lung collapse, internal bleeding, stroke, kidney failure, liver failure, and suicide. These are only about thirty-five of sixty conditions listed that bulimic patients may come down with, due to continuous binging and purging.
Ten out of one hundred bulimic individuals die after a lifetime of concealing the disease from their family and loved ones. Treatment for this disease includes serious medication and psychotherapy, but is also long-term and must be closely followed over a long period of time by a physician to confirm that the symptoms of bulimia do not return after the patient completes treatment.
Bulimia will always be a problem in our modern societies. Perfectionism, traumatic childhood events, and high social status can cause bulimia, but most of all, it is us, who will readily admit that we are depressed, insane, or even suffering from fatal diseases, but we cannot, and never will, tell anyone that we have a problem being perfect, a hole in our road to this so-called perfection. Why? Because it is simply unexplainable.
Thank you for your time and please consider making an effort to stem this vital problem.
EDIT: Sorry about the bad poll, the correct one should be a) Have you ever known/met someone who is bulimic and b) if you have, have they gotten help, if you havn't, then answer as no...