# What is bulimia?



## WickerDeer (Aug 1, 2012)

Yeah, I'm confused about bulimia being a binge disorder.

What would you call someone who wasn't anorexic, but who went through periods of throwing up every meal they ate (like--IDK--maybe periods of several weeks or a month?) Who didn't binge, but who starved themselves by purging?

And what do body image disorders have to do with eating disorders? If the desire to be skinnier and skinnier due to a faulty self-image drove someone to disordered eating habits like starving, throwing up, or binging, then would they be considered to have an eating disorder if it wasn't constant? It seems like eating disorders aren't always part of an image disorder.


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## 3053 (Oct 14, 2009)

@meltedsorbet that's definitely more of an anorexic trait, or solely a purging disorder. Bulimia is driven by huge binges primarily, I think the media has lead people to focus on the ''vomiting'' aspect of it. The purging only happens because the binge came first


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## 3053 (Oct 14, 2009)

http://personalitycafe.com/infp-forum-idealists/98961-bulimia-eating-disorders.html

also have some personal posts on my tumblr in my signature if anyone wants to have a lil look,,


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## chip (Oct 12, 2011)

NeonBomb said:


> @_meltedsorbet_ that's definitely more of an anorexic trait, or solely a purging disorder. Bulimia is driven by huge binges primarily, I think the media has lead people to focus on the ''vomiting'' aspect of it. The purging only happens because the binge came first


*bulimia nervo´sa* an eating disorder occurring mainly in girls and young women, characterized by episodic binge eating followed by purging *or other behaviors designed to prevent weight gain and by excessive influence of body shape and size on the patient's sense of self-worth. *Binging episodes involve intake of quantifiably excessive quantities of food within a short, discrete period and a sense of loss of control over food intake during these periods. Unlike anorexia nervosa, no extreme weight loss occurs.


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## 3053 (Oct 14, 2009)

@chip I think you mistook the term 'purging' to mean solely self induced vomiting. Other forms of purging are fasting, using laxatives, excessive exercise, dieting, using diuretics.... as I have already mentioned.


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