Bulimic neurosis: symptoms and treatment, what kind of disease is it

Bulimic neurosis is a serious disease associated with eating and subsequent repentance for the deed committed. This is a mental disorder in which eating behavior is a secondary factor, and the depressive state and instability of the nervous system come to the forefront. About this illness and how to treat it, we will talk about this article.

What is the disease?

Bulimic neurosis refers to diseases from the field of psychiatry and is a disorder of the central nervous system. Somatic manifestations are only the consequences of a "malfunction in the program" of the nervous system. In another way, this disease is called "wolf hunger", and it most often affects girls and young women.

In this case, the problem with bulimic neurosis is not that the digestive system is not working properly, but that the body loses important for the proper functioning of substances and minerals.

If you briefly describe the picture of a bulimic neurosis, it will be this: a person either absorbs food in huge chunks and in large quantities, and then induces vomiting, or does not eat anything at all, for fear of growing fat. The first subspecies of the disease is called classical bulimic neurosis, and the second - anorexia nervosa. Both variants of the disease require observation from a specialist.

Symptoms of bulimic neurosis

Any disease should have its own symptoms. They also have a bulimic neurosis. So, the symptoms of bulimic neurosis, by which it is easy to establish that you or this person's acquaintance is precisely this disease:

1) Abundant vomiting after any meal. As a rule, it causes the person himself, pressing on the root of the tongue. The reason is the desire to get rid of calories from the body;

2) Strong destruction of tooth enamel and carious teeth, which is caused by the constant presence in the mouth of the corrosive gastric juice mucus. It is activated when vomiting;

3) Severe dehydration;

4) Scratches on the fingers, caused by the constant placement of fingers in the throat during attempts to induce vomiting;

5) Inflammation of the esophagus and parotid glands caused by frequent vomiting;

6) Imbalance in the body of electrolytes( minerals and salts), because of which cramps and twitching of muscles are possible;

7) Constant reception of laxatives for getting rid of food eaten, and as a result - irritable bowel syndrome;

8) Impaired liver and kidney function;

9) Internal bleeding( rare cases, but may be with severe disease);

10) Heart diseases associated with metabolic shifts.

Effective treatment of

Treatment of bulimic neurosis is possible only with a doctor, self-medication in this case is unacceptable. What can a doctor do and to which specialist to apply? As already mentioned above, bulimic neurosis is a disease directly related to the patient's mental state, therefore a psychiatrist / psychotherapist, nutritionist, and any other doctor of a narrow specialty( eg cardiologist, gynecologist, endocrinologist) should take part in the treatment of the patient, if the processlaunched and improper diet led to systemic failures in the body. However, the first doctor who leads such a patient should be a psychiatrist.

Usually, in the treatment of bulimic neurosis, the following treatment is prescribed:

• Therapy of a psychosomatic state;
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy to teach the patient to establish the causes of the condition;
• Drug therapy( reception of light antidepressants);
• Maintaining a food diary( amount of food eaten, emotional state after eating);
• Classes with a psychotherapist;
• Physiotherapy - light therapy( used in the so-called seasonal bulimic neurosis, caused by a sharp increase in the amount of food taken in certain seasons, most often such bulimia - the body's reaction to insufficient sunlight);
• Interpersonal therapy.