Bulimia nervosa is a kind of eating disorder followed by purging wherein the affected has a tendency of consuming lots of food in a short span and try to get rid of that by purging. Binge eating in bulimia nervosa is then followed by attempts at neutralizing the binge eating by efforts of vomiting or overdosing on laxatives. Not only is this limitless eating unhealthy but also life-threatening as regular self-induced vomits and consumption of medications and supplements for weight-loss can ultimately take a toll. It is a psychological disorder that is hard to overcome as the lack of self-esteem and an inferiority complex or being judged harshly for flaws of self-image often hinder normal lifestyle.

Although bulimia nervosa can affect all age groups regardless of their gender, it occurs mostly in teens and women as they tend to be figure-conscious. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1% of the adult population of the country suffers from bulimia nervosa at least once in their lives. There are two major types of this disorder:

• Purging
  Occurring in most cases where people have binge eating disorders, in this case, the affected engage in abusing laxatives and diuretics as well as forcefully vomiting.
• Non-purging
  In this case, the affected gets into over-exercising, fasting, etc after binge eating.

Causes of Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is hardly dependent on any physical anomaly but on psychological influences like shock, grief, and confusion.

• Genetic Influence
  The gene of obesity is often carried forward to the offspring or first-degree relatives from the affected. If a person has an eating and purging disorder, the immediate relatives like parents, kids, and siblings can develop the same traits.

• Cultural Influence
  In many families, fasting is a common ritual, and if that is applied on someone who cannot stay in a fasting state, he or she can get into eating disorders after breaking the fast and then will try to neutralize the binge eating by purging, thereby causing this condition.

• Psychological Influence
  The most common causes of bulimia nervosa are psychological trauma, distress, anxiety, depression, the feeling of negativity, or inferiority. Past events of trauma, assault, losing something or someone close, or starting a new lifestyle can also cause bulimia nervosa.

• Dieting
  Those who are on a strict diet need time to adapt to it and can start binge eating and purging cycle to fill their appetite and restrict the calories in the intervals.

• Biological Causes
  During puberty, pregnancy, menstrual cycles, women tend to get mood swings and feel excessive appetite, which might lead to eating too much and vomiting afterward or over-exercising.

Symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa
The most noticeable symptoms of bulimia nervosa include eating a large amount of food in secrecy or storing food in secrecy; thereby, the disappearance of food is often noticed by others. People suffering from bulimia often switch between a fasting and overeating period and use washroom often after eating, which is followed by the patient returning with the smell of vomit on his or her body.

Being too conscious of putting on weight and getting fat, excessive exercising or vomiting abnormally right after eating, fasting after eating too much food on one sitting. The patients also feel out of control while binge eating. Another symptom of bulimia nervosa is consuming herbal or organic dietary supplements to lose weight and having laxatives, enemas, and diuretics abnormally.

Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa
An integrated psychological therapy and recovery session is an effective treatment for bulimia nervosa. After breaking the binge eating and purging cycle, the psychological counseling begins where the doctor and those who are close to the patient try to convince how over-dieting and being too conscious about physical appearance is futile. As the patient slowly recovers, in the final phase, the emotional issues are resolved by various behavioral therapies like cognitive or dialectic.