Eating disorders
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Bulimia
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating, weight gain fear, and compensatory behaviors like vomiting. Our team is here to assist, and severe symptoms require a physician's assessment.
Bulimia in brief
- There is help available for the symptoms of bulimia, and it is possible to make a full recovery. Competent and active multidisciplinary treatment is key.
- Our physicians can plan the treatment and the appropriate way to implement it. Psychosocial treatment and nutritional therapy are central forms of treatment.
- In the treatment of bulimia, it is important to simultaneously treat mental health, physical health and the eating disorder symptoms.
- Our multidisciplinary eating disorder team is here to help you in the Helsinki metropolitan area.
Symptoms of bulimia
People with bulimia are consumed by thoughts of eating and body image, and the symptoms include frequent binging.
After binging, they try to compensate by vomiting, fasting or taking medicine.
People with bulimia often have a negative self-image and a distorted or negative body image.
Bulimia can have both mental and physical symptoms and consequences. Common psychological symptoms include depression and anxiety. Bulimia can also cause physical symptoms, such as abdominal symptoms, oral and dental health problems, menstrual cycle disturbances or cardiac symptoms.
Treatment of bulimia
There is help available for the symptoms of bulimia, and it is possible to make a full recovery. Psychosocial and psychotherapeutic treatments, as well as nutritional therapy, are key forms of treatment for bulimia. If your symptoms are severe and you experience physical symptoms, a physician’s assessment is important.
Proper treatment includes competent multidisciplinary cooperation and a simultaneous focus on mental health, physical health, other co-occurring psychological symptoms and eating disorder symptoms.
In the treatment of bulimia, it is important to support a regular and adequate diet, stop restrictive eating, vomiting or other harmful compensation methods, recognise the root causes of the symptoms in one’s own life, find healthy ways to regulate emotions, strengthen one’s self-esteem and body image, work on one’s own beliefs and thought patterns, and treat any other co-occurring psychological symptoms.
When to see a specialist?
If you would like to discuss your situation with our professionals, our multidisciplinary eating disorder team is here to help you in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The treatment is performed as outpatient treatment.
- The eating disorder team’s psychiatrists can plan the treatment and assess the need for treatment and the appropriate way to implement it.
- The eating disorder team’s psychologists and psychotherapists offer support discussion sessions as well as short-term psychosocial treatment and long-term psychotherapy. The treatment focuses simultaneously on the reduction of symptoms and psychological work.
- The eating disorder team’s dietitians provide nutritional therapy and help to normalise eating behaviour.
- The eating disorder team’s general practitioners and paediatricians assess the physical symptoms of bulimia and the need for blood tests and other examinations.
Specialist in the article
Psykologi, psykoterapeutti, psykologian dosentti
Revised 6/18/2024
Frequently asked questions about bulimia
Bulimia is an eating disorder that involves frequent overeating and subsequent attempts to compensate for binging, such as vomiting, to prevent weight gain. The disorder often causes a severe fear of gaining weight and can affect both physical and mental health. The treatment of bulimia involves a multidisciplinary approach combining psychological, nutritional and medical interventions.
Psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety are common because eating disorders strongly affect a person’s self-esteem and body image. They can also be both the result of an eating disorder and its trigger, creating a vicious cycle where the psychological symptoms and eating disorder symptoms feed each other.
A multidisciplinary team of psychiatrists, psychologists, dietitians and general practitioners offers a comprehensive approach to treating an eating disorder. They work together to assess and treat both physical and psychological symptoms, designing individual treatment plans and supporting the patient in all aspects of their life.
An untreated eating disorder can lead to serious physical issues such as abdominal problems, oral and dental health problems, menstrual cycle disturbances and cardiac symptoms. If left untreated for a prolonged period of time, an eating disorder can exacerbate these symptoms and lead to permanent health complications.
Psychosocial treatments, such as support discussions and psychotherapy, are central to the treatment of eating disorders, as they help to address the underlying psychological factors of the eating disorder. They offer ways to improve emotional regulation, strengthen self-esteem and correct distorted thinking patterns, which is important in the recovery process.
A physician’s assessment is necessary when the symptoms of an eating disorder are severe and have a significant impact on a person’s daily life and health. Physical symptoms such as persistent fatigue, cardiac symptoms or menstrual disturbances, as well as psychological symptoms such as severe anxiety or depression, are signs that professional help is needed.
