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Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by recurrent binge eating, followed by compensatory behaviors. The most common form is defensive vomiting, sometimes called purging; fasting, the use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics, and over exercising are also common.

Bulimia was first described in 1979 by Gerald F.M. Russell. He described the key clinical features of bulimia in 30 patients whom he had seen between 1972 and 1978. Russell described the syndrome as an ‘ominous variant’ of Anorexia Nervosa.

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder in which a person binges and purges. The person may eat a lot of food at once and then try to get rid of the food by vomiting, using laxatives, or sometimes over-exercising. People with bulimia are preoccupied with their weight and body image. Bulimia is associated with depression and other psychiatric disorders and shares symptoms with anorexia nervosa, another major eating disorder. Because many individuals with bulimia can maintain a normal weight, they are able to keep their condition a secret for years. If not treated, bulimia can lead to nutritional deficiencies and even fatal complications.

When you suffer from bulimia, life is a constant battle between the desire to lose weight or stay thin and the overwhelming compulsion to binge eat. You do your best to keep the cravings at bay. You don’t want to binge you know you’ll feel disgusted and ashamed afterwards—but you can’t fight the urge. All you can think of is food, and in the end, you give in.

You eat whatever you can get your hands on, binging until you’re so stuffed you feel like you’re going to explode. Then the panic over all the calories you’ve eaten sets in. Terrified of gaining weight, you turn to drastic measures to “undo” your binge, purging, fasting, or exercising to get rid of the calories. And all the while, you feel increasingly out of control.
The three key features of bulimia

1.Self worth excessively influenced by weight and physical appearance
2.Inappropriate behavior to prevent weight gain
3.Regular episodes of out of control binge eating

It’s important to note that bulimia doesn’t necessarily involve purging—physically eliminating the food from your body by throwing up or using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics. If you make up for your binges by fasting, exercising to excess, or going on crash diets, this also qualifies as bulimia.