I am a 20 year old male with an appetite that has been steadily increasing. Roughly 1 1/2 years ago i had been eating sparingly throughout the day with a large binge at night, at an estimated 3-4000 calories. At the time i was very preoccupied with self image and leading up to the present the binges had changed but my preoccupation with body image was beginning to wane, or so i thought.
From about a year ago to now i have been having binges ranging from one to two or 3 per day. After every binge i would either go and exercise and have green tea, as an almost ingrained habit (would help relieve the guilt and excessive fullness/ guilt i would feel).
Many times i try to limit the amount of food i will eat ahead of time, but i end up feeling so lethargic and despondent that the only option for me is to cave in; at which point i eat anything and everything that provides a sense of relief..(aka junk)
Accompanying this timetable of events has been an increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms. And while seeing a psychiatrist i have been prescribed benzodiazepines, clonozepam and xanax, along with lexapro. After my initial reaction to the benzo's as sleepiness and even more an increased appetite i stopped taking them, and never even started taking the ssri, regardless of my doctor's instruction.
I don't purge or anything of that manner, and was just wondering if this sounds like bulimia nervosa. Thanks for the help
Is this Bulimia Nervosa?
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by Nigel » Sat Jun 05, 2010 10:37 am
Hi psychic24,
...and welcome
"I don't purge or anything of that manner, and was just wondering if this sounds like bulimia nervosa."
Hmm... it's always tricky when people try to put labels on things because mental health issues are rarely that simple. Bulimia is usually characterised by excessive eating followed by some form of purging; however, some people do turn to behaviours like excessive exercising in an attempt to compensate for the binge. You can read a bit more about bulimia here.
There's another type of eating disorder - compulsive overeating - where a person eats excessively but doesn't engage in any form of purging.
But the important thing isn't the label but the fact that you've recognised that something isn't right. That food is being used for something food was never intended for. It's often a way of coping or dealing with something that otherwise feels out of control. I wonder what that is, because it's the real key to understanding and beating the problem.
"Accompanying this timetable of events has been an increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms."
But which came first? Were they the result of the eating problems, or did the anxiety and depressive symptoms come first? Then having already discovered that food could be used to deal with emotional difficulties it was the obvious way of dealing with these ones.
"After my initial reaction to the benzo's as sleepiness and even more an increased appetite i stopped taking them... "
Had you been taking them long before you stopped. I don't know much about these types of medication but I do know that they shouldn't be abruptly stopped having been taken for a while. It can result in some unpleasant side effects, and often any pre-existing problems are heightened for a while.
Good luck,
Nigel
...and welcome
"I don't purge or anything of that manner, and was just wondering if this sounds like bulimia nervosa."
Hmm... it's always tricky when people try to put labels on things because mental health issues are rarely that simple. Bulimia is usually characterised by excessive eating followed by some form of purging; however, some people do turn to behaviours like excessive exercising in an attempt to compensate for the binge. You can read a bit more about bulimia here.
There's another type of eating disorder - compulsive overeating - where a person eats excessively but doesn't engage in any form of purging.
But the important thing isn't the label but the fact that you've recognised that something isn't right. That food is being used for something food was never intended for. It's often a way of coping or dealing with something that otherwise feels out of control. I wonder what that is, because it's the real key to understanding and beating the problem.
"Accompanying this timetable of events has been an increase in anxiety and depressive symptoms."
But which came first? Were they the result of the eating problems, or did the anxiety and depressive symptoms come first? Then having already discovered that food could be used to deal with emotional difficulties it was the obvious way of dealing with these ones.
"After my initial reaction to the benzo's as sleepiness and even more an increased appetite i stopped taking them... "
Had you been taking them long before you stopped. I don't know much about these types of medication but I do know that they shouldn't be abruptly stopped having been taken for a while. It can result in some unpleasant side effects, and often any pre-existing problems are heightened for a while.
Good luck,
Nigel
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• Page 1 of 1