The bulimia nervosa has an onset between 12 and 25 years, although at its peak between 17 and 18. It mainly affects women. Most of the research carried out suggests that bulimia is more common today than in the past although we do not know exactly why.
In Italy, as in other Western countries, there is a significant increase in cases of bulimia that seem to be distributed evenly in all social classes.
How do you recognize a person suffering from bulimia?
Bulimic people are generally of normal weight. Some, however, may be slightly underweight or slightly overweight, very few very overweight.
To be diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, the following characteristics must be present:
- Recurrent binges where a large amount of food is consumed and a feeling of losing control over the act of eating;
- Compensatory behaviors (for example, vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, or excessive exercise and fasting)
- Binge eating and compensatory behaviors must occur at least twice a week for 3 months;
- Extreme concern about weight and body shape (their self-esteem depends on these two factors).
What to do to help a bulimic person
Often those who suffer from bulimia binge in solitude and in secret out of strong shame. Frequently no one in the family is aware of the problem, which can be hidden even for a long time. In fact, it is very common for a bulimic person to confess their difficulties with food when the mechanism is structured. Only because he feels that the control strategies he has tried to implement are not working.
Talk privately with the bulimic person
It is important to keep in mind that those with an eating problem feel ashamed of their behavior. This is especially true for binges that are perceived in an ego-dystonic way. It is therefore advisable to talk to the person privately, trying to be kind and gentle, and to encourage them to seek help from a professional who is experienced in these issues.
Do not seek explanations but propose solutions
If we are the parents of a daughter suffering from bulimia nervosa , we often look for why. So we begin to ask ourselves: “where did I go wrong? It’s all my fault!”. Blaming yourself is useless, indeed it is often counterproductive.
For example, a mother who begins to think that the fault of everything is the bad relationship with her daughter, will tend to make interpretations based on this explanation. For example: “Whenever he bingees, he does it to make me pay”. This interpretation generates impotence but also anger that obviously pours into the relationship with his / her son / daughter.
Avoid criticizing or controlling the person suffering from bulimia
An attitude of criticism and a high expressed emotionality lead to the development of a dysfunctional family climate that can aggravate or maintain the eating disorder.
Likewise, it is important not to blame the person who has an eating problem: “You couldn’t stop yourself from eating! You have to commit yourself! ”. The bulimia nervosa , like other eating disorders, they can not be addressed through sheer force of will. First of all, knowledge of the mechanisms that maintain the problem is needed. Starting from this, it is possible to face them with adequate tools.
Not keeping food in the house or even locking the pantry are strategies that family members sometimes implement with the aim of helping the person to resist binges . These attempts are not useful, on the contrary they encourage the person suffering from bulimia to search even more secretly for food (eg by buying large quantities of food at the supermarket).
Accompany the bulimic person towards an adequate therapeutic path
The most important help that can be offered to a loved one or a bulimic person close to us is to share our concern with them. We can thus encourage her to approach a psychotherapist who can first of all give her an explanation of the mechanism that is trapping her. He can then offer you strategies to overcome it.
There is a specific form of “enhanced” cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-E Cognitive Behavioral Therapy- Enanched) which is scientifically validated and highly effective. This allows to face the cognitive and behavioral processes of maintenance of the psychopathology that operate in the patient suffering from eating disorders.
It is an individual therapy , but it is flexible and personalized and can also include the involvement of parents or those close to the person who has an eating problem. The aim is to foster a happy family / social environment and to explain how it can be useful in helping the person to benefit more from CBT-E therapy.
