The Effects of Bulimia Which Control your life

The effects of bulimia nervosa make it a terrifying and lonely illness. You feel like nobody in the world could understand your suffering... You feel vulnerable and helpless... You feel alone.

When I was bulimic, my entire life suffered as a result of this illness. Every aspect of it was ruled by the strict guidelines that bulimia makes you live by. From the moment you wake up in the morning with a burning and dry throat, to the time you collapse into bed at night... Exhausted by the binging, vomiting and lies.

Bulimia effects you in 3 extremely damaging ways... Physically, Psychologically and Socially. Many of the effects can disappear quickly after you recover. However, the long term effects of bulimia, could challenge you for years.

The Physical Effects of Bulimia

The physical effects of bulimia are real. Don't kid yourself, bulimia kills. There are so many dangers in bulimia that can cause death... Some being:

• Ketoacidosis (High acid levels in your blood)
• Seizures and fits
• Pancreatitis
• Electrolyte imbalance
• Cardiac arrest
• Suicide from depression
• Gastric rupture
• Cancer (Read about my experience with bulimia and cancer here)

And the list goes on and on... For more information, you can read my death from bulimia page.

Bulimia causes a number of other physical effects that are not life threatening. However, they can be very embarrassing and psychologically damaging for the sufferer. These include:

• Lanugo (Excessive growth of hair your body and even face)
• Bulimia Teeth
• Chipmunk Cheeks (Swollen salivary glands in your face)
• Scabby sores in the corners of your mouth and knuckles
• Bulimia Bloat - Caused by slow bulimia metabolism

To learn more about the embarrassing bulimia physical effects, click here.

The health effects caused by bulimia are without doubt, very scary. However, from experience - l think the psychological effects can be even more damaging...

The Psychological Effects of Bulimia

Bulimia has this strange ability to control your mind. Food, throwing up and weight loss are always at the fore front of your thoughts.

You constantly beat yourself up about how fat you are... And how useless, pathetic, crazy you are for doing what you do.

Your days revolve around eating and then ridding yourself of the calories you just consumed.

It's exhausting just remembering my years of bulimia!

Some of the damaging psychological effects caused by bulimia are:

• Extreme mood changes
• Constant thoughts of food
• Extreme anxiety, especially after a binge
• Terrible body image and low self worth
• Feelings of shame and guilt
• Feelings of being out of control
• Suicidal thoughts
• Paranoia of people discovering your illness (I had this one really badly!)

The Social Effects of Bulimia

One of the saddest things about being bulimic is the loneliness that you feel...

One by one, you push away all the important people in your life. I think this is because:

Bulimics don't want to risk anybody knowing their dark secret... And partly because... A bulimics sense of what is truly important becomes so warped.

Some of the social effects of bulimia are:

• Avoidance of others (so that you can binge and purge as much as possible)
• Memory Loss
• Unable to eat with others
• Irritability at others
• No energy to socialize
• Difficulty developing and maintaining relationships
• Feelings that nobody knows the 'real-you'
• People who love you feeling helpless about how to help
• People becoming angry at your erratic behavior, not knowing the cause
• The lost years of bulimia - One of the saddest bulimia dangers, learn more here

How to Beat Bulimia?

Bulimia creates havoc in all areas of your life. When I was bulimic, I remember thinking:

'Bulimia is an illness that turns good people into bad people...'

Now I realize that bulimia doesn't turn you into a bad person... But, it does turn your life upside down. It makes you bitter, sad, depressed, hopeless and angry.

If you are suffering from bulimia... Don't feel hopeless... If I recovered, you can too. Please read my bulimia treatments page for more information on how I beat bulimia.

Other Articles You May Be Interested In:

• The Worst Of All Bulimia Side Effects... Memory Loss
• Anxiety Attacks and Bulimia
• Blood in vomit: What could cause it and is it serious?
• Bulimia Hair Loss - My story of Balding
• The Physical Effects of Bulimia that made me look like a zombie!
• Bulimia Side Effect: Slow stomach emptying and how to fix it!
• My Bulimia Tooth Decay and 3 tips on how you can avoid it!
• Arrhythmia and Bulimia: How To Prevent a Bulimia Heart Attack