BULIMIA NERVOSA Cristian Pelaez

DEFINITION  A condition in which people would eat large portion of food at one time, and then try to get rid of the extra calories by vomiting or other actions.

ASSOCIATED FEATURES AnorexiaBulimia

ASSOCIATED FEATURES AnorexiaBulimia  Vomiting (Purging)  Excessive Exercising  Lose Weight  See themselves as over weight  Binging  Vomiting (Purging)  Excessive Exercising  Fasting (Non-Purging)  See themselves accurately but but worry about gaining weight  Don’t lose tons of weight

ASSOCIATED FEATURES  Vomiting used for self-relief  Spit out food

ASSOCIATED FEATURES  “People with bulimia may have the following signs and symptoms:  Binge eating of high-carbohydrate foods, usually in secret  Exercising for hours  Eating until painfully full  Loss of control over eating, with guilt and shame  Body weight that goes up and down  Constipation, diarrhea, nausea, gas, abdominal pain  Dehydration  Missed periods or lack of menstrual periods  Damaged tooth enamel  Bad breath  Sore throat or mouth sores  Depression”

DSM - IV - TR  “A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating. An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:  (1) eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat during a similar period of time and under similar circumstances (2) a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating) ”

DSM - IV - TR  “B. Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting; misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, or other medications; fasting; or excessive exercise.  C. The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors both occur, on average, at least twice a week for 3 months. ”

ETIOLOGY  Person feels out of control  Late adolescence  After Dieting  Perfectionism  Admire thinness  Intrapersonal and Interpersonal conflict

PREVALENCE  Women 1%-3% and males is 1/10 of the amount of females with it  Usually in industrialized countries such as US, Canada, and the continent of Europe.  Fashion  In the US most of the victims are white

TREATMENT  Biological  Treatment might involve medication  Placebo and Fluoxetine  Can also be healthy body functions and also proper eating behaviors

TREATMENT  Biopsychosocial  Psychotherapy  Behavioral Therapy  Cognitive Therapy  Both focus on interpersonal problems  Learn self control  Learn to change their thoughts and behaviors about eating  Interventions over all

PROGNOSIS  Treatments have shown reduction of symptoms  More control  Happy lives  If untreated people would be depressed, continue to be malnutrition and eventually die

REFERENCES  American Psychiatric Association. (2010). DSM-IV-TR. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association  Halgin. R.P. & Whitbourne, S.K. (2005). Abnormal Psychology: clinical perspectives on psychological disorders. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill  BehaveNet Inc. (2000). Bulimia Nervosa. Retrieved from

QUESTION  How does Reciprocal determinism associate with Bulimia Nervosa?