There are different causes for bulimia. Normally, when a person contracts an eating disorder a few causes are responsible at the same time. It is almost never just one cause. Let's look at the most common causes of bulimia.
1. Genetic predisposition to bulimia. Contrary to what many people think bulimics don't inherit a gene that makes them contract an eating disorder itself, but a gene that makes them susceptible to obsessions and addictions.
Often bulimics family members have OCD (often undiagnosed), addictions to alcohol, drugs, gambling, nicotine, compulsive shopping and the like. Food addiction is one of them and it can appear in the form of binge eating, compulsive overeating and obesity.
2. Environmental factors. These are schools and peers, parents and family, media, cultural standards, society attitudes and other factors that condition and influence people's minds regarding body image, self-esteem and beliefs.
Different forms of abuse (which can be put into the category of environmental causes) are significant environmental factors that can cause bulimia. Sexual abuse, physical, emotional and verbal abuse - all of them can trigger bulimic symptoms in a susceptible individual. This happens because bulimia sufferers start to hate their own bodies after the abuse. They start to think that they are dirty, ugly, fat and disgusting. The recollection about the abuse creates an emotional chemistry: certain chemicals get released automatically in the brain and put the sufferer into a defensive mode.
Cold parental attitudes can become a culprit also for children to start using food as a "love compensating" thing.
Too high an expectation to succeed for a child and too much pressure from parents falls into the same category.
3. Biological cause. This cause relates to the biology of the individual's brain, nervous system, hormonal system and biochemistry of the body. Some people's biology can just malfunction especially in periods of stress, life changes, infections or other diseases. The human brain produces chemicals called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are responsible for our emotions and thought patterns. The imbalance of these chemicals causes emotional imbalance and thought imbalance.
4. Mental causes or you can also call them behavioural problems.
The most common one is inability to cope with stress. Unresolved stress can cause binging-purging episodes in many people. Some people start abusing food to compensate for the negative feelings they experience during stress and then they get hooked to the feelings binging brings on.
Different forms of anxiety can trigger bulimia. This happens because food gives temporary relief to anxiety during the binge. The person goes into a trance like state during the binge, forgets the negative feelings and detaches her/himself from reality. That's why it is nearly impossible for bulimics to stop binging as they know that they can go for it and get feelings of relief.
Depression can cause binging-purging episodes in the same way like anxiety does. The same mechanism of evoking pleasure using food applies.
To conclude, I want to emphasize that a person does not normally get bulimia if she/he is exposed to one of the causes only. It is usually a combination of causes in one person that makes her/him to become sick.
The best way to start your recovery is by practicing self-acceptance, increasing self-esteem, connecting with your soul, finding your true purpose in life. This will drive the attention away from food and give pleasure from more positive and constructive things, not from the bulimia.
Dr Irina Webster MD is a leading expert in eating disorders treatment. To read about how to counteract bulimia effects go to http://www.meditation-sensation.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Irina_Webster
