What is bulimia?

Bulimia is more common than anorexia and is generally linked to emotional issues and stress.  Many people manage to hide the illness because they are ashamed of how they are coping. Their body weight appears to be about average and other people may not notice that there is a problem and this adds to secrecy. However if you have bulimia you are likely to be very unhappy, you may feel ill a lot of the time and be constantly thinking about dieting and ways of controlling your weight. 

Common signs of bulimia

The common signs of bulimia are a desire to control weight.  For example you may be eating very large amounts of food and then making yourself sick, or, you may be massively cutting down on food for a few days until you’re starving. This may lead to you eating large amounts of food, and so the cycle repeats itself.

Some people with bulimia restrict food although they may not exprience the severe weight loss associated with anorexia.

Bulimia has side effects and the symptoms are unpleasant. You can cause serious harm to yourself and life would be so much better for you without the illness.  Your first step to recovery is to find someone to talk to. Your GP can help with information and advice on how to cope with bulimia and seek treatment.