The most common element surviving ALL Eating Disorders
is the inherent presence of a low self esteem.

BULIMIA NERVOSA

Men and women who live with Bulimia seek out binge and purge episodes -- they will eat a large quantity of food in a relatively short period of time and then use behaviors such as taking laxatives or self-induced vomiting -- in order to punish themselves for something they feel they should unrealistically blame themselves for. This can be in direct relation to how they feel about themselves, or how they feel over a particular event or series of events in their lives. The Bulimic will also seek episodes of binging and purging to avoid and let out feelings of anger, depression, stress or anxiety.

"... the shackled anger I am accustomed to... reflecting on myself...
and with every tear there are a thousand more
that need to follow so I may climb from the darkness... "

Men and women suffering Bulimia are usually aware they have an eating disorder. Fascinated by food they sometimes buy magazines and cook-books to read recipes, and enjoy discussing dieting issues.

Some of the behavioral signs can be: Recurring episodes of rapid food consumption followed by tremendous guilt and purging (laxatives or self-induced vomiting), a feeling of lacking control over his or her eating behaviors, regularly engaging in stringent diet plans and exercise, the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, and/or diet pills and a persistent concern with body image can all be warning signs someone is suffering with Bulimia.

"... my need to do this... it is almost instinctually protective....
a mechanism shielding out the real me in my mind...
and I don't think I even know who the real me is... "

It is important to realize that what makes a person Bulimic -- as opposed to Anorexic -- is not the purging, but the cycle of binging and purging. Purging may be using laxatives or self-induced vomiting, but there are Bulimics who use other inappropriate compensatory behaviors such as compulsive exercise (ie., excessive jogging or aerobics), to attempt to burn off the calories of a binge, or fasting the day following a binge. It is not uncommon for a man or woman suffering with Bulimia to take diet pills in an attempt to keep from binging, or to use diuretics to try to lose weight. A victim will often hide or "store" food for later binges, will often eat secretly and can have large fluctuations in their weight.

"...I sense a stranger filling this silent room with anguish...
a silence that rattles against the windows leaving me so cold
and numb... and somehow... this feeling I do not understand
is my best friend and enemy all wrapped up in one... "

BOTH ANOREXIA AND BULIMIA

There are many similarities in both illnesses, the most common being the cause. There seems to be a common occurence of sexual and/or physical and emotional abuse in direct relation to eating disorders (though not all people living with Eating Disorders are survivors of abuse). There also seems to be a direct connection in some people to clinical Depression. The eating disorder sometimes causes the depression or the depression can lead to the eating disorder. All in all, eating disorders are very complex emotional issues -- Though they may seem to be nothing more than a dangerously obsessive weight concern on the surface, for most men and women suffering with an eating disorder there are deeper emotional conflicts to be resolved.

"... I want to free myself... and find security in my tears.
How can I touch my innerself and know of the existence...
when this painful essence has beaten me down?... "

DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA