Bulimia nervosa: An emotional disorder involving distortion of body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depression and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting. Statistics show that 1.1%-4.2% of females suffer from bulimia nervosa in their lifetime. Up to 10% of college-aged women suffer from eating disorders, half of those being bulimia nervosa.
1. "Oh, you throw up"
GiphyThere is a common misconception that the only or main way bulimics rid their stomach of food is through purging. In truth, bulimics can purge, over-exercise, or take laxatives (sometimes using a combination of all three).
2. Having to meticulously plan out when to purge
GiphyPurging can be a long process and can make you feel like sh*t afterward. Family and friend events, even work or school can get in the way of being able to purge at any time.
3. "You don't look bulimic"
GiphyBulimics tend to have a normal body size because despite their bingeing they also purge. This prevents them from looking obese, but at the same time, enough calories are absorbed that they don't look anorexic.
4. Food is always on your mind
Whether you're thinking about what to indulge in, how to rid yourself of the food which you consumed, or the caloric value of something, the thought of food is always in the back of your mind.
5. Feeling like you're on top of the world one moment and on the bottom of it next
GiphyYou can feel thin and lightweight one moment, then consume something which makes you feel even better, but the joy only lasts a while before you feel sickened with yourself again.
6. Being told "you know you won't lose weight"
One of the most annoying things about having a mental illness such as bulimia is when someone acts like telling you the facts will enlighten you. We know, we just can't help it.
7. Rarely eating in public
Sometimes it's easier to be the social outcast rather than having to do something like eat in public. Whether you're not eating because it gives you anxiety to do so in public, or in fear that you'll indulge, you always have to come up with an excuse of why you don't want to eat.
8. Having to cancel plans
Feeling disgusted with how you look, having an irritated stomach, or just feeling like a waste comes between you and your life all the time.
9. Belief that men don't suffer from it
Mental illness, as for eating disorders, do not apply to one gender only. The stigma that only women suffer from bulimia nervosa is completely inaccurate.
10. People acting like you did it to yourself
GiphyThose who have never suffered from an eating disorder can still be fast to judge. They act like we have no self-control, and are irrational for our fear of gaining weight and eating. Even family members and friends who know you better than anyone else can still be ignorant.
