Title: Anorexia Nervosa vs. Bulimia: Are you a patient of any of these?

Thin- four words that can either make or break a person.
Weight is our society’s standards of beauty.  If you are thin, you are beautiful.  You are admired.  You get complements wherever you go.  If you are fat, you are laughed at.  You are ridiculed.  You are not beautiful.  You are not good enough. 
This is the sad reality.
If you are vain, you would definitely be doing all sorts of things just to be thin and that makes you are a very vulnerable candidate for eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia.

Anorexia Nervosa
So what is Anorexia Nervosa?  Is this a fab condition to be into?  This is a big No.  Anorexia Nervosa is never fabulous.  It is deadly.  It is lethal.  It can kill you.
Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder wherein the person experiences an aversion to eating brought about by a distorted self-perception about their weight.  People who are suffering from Anorexia Nervosa are never contented with their weight.  They have developed an obsession to get thinner even if they are already too thin. 

Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa is commonly referred to as Bulimia.  It is also an eating disorder like Anorexia Nervosa.  People who are suffering from Bulimia usually engage in binge eating because of an intense craving to eat.  The craving is a compulsion.  Those who have Bulimia are never fully satisfied no matter how much volume of food they consume.  In the end, they would want to expel all the food that they have eaten out of their system.  They do this by throwing up or by using excessive laxatives or diuretics.

Anorexia and Bulimia: How are they similar?
There are a lot of similarities between Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. 
1. The Aim.  Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa has only one underlying reason – the compulsion to attain a very thin body.  People who are suffering from the two conditions are fixated on the idea of thinness.
2. They are both eating disorders.  The two conditions both utilize unhealthy eating habits.  There are differences in the rituals on how the two conditions achieve their main goal but they both have unhealthy and potentially dangerous ways.
3. The same causes.  The two conditions can be attributed on the same causes: biological and psychological.  One theory is that the conditions are brought about by a predisposition in the genes of the person.  Another perspective is that the two conditions are brought about by the environment like culture and family. 

Anorexia and Bulimia: What are the differences?
Although Anorexia and Bulimia are similar in a lot of ways, they also have small differences.
1. People suffering from Bulimia have a deeper need to be accepted by others than those with Anorexia Nervosa.  They normally would like to appear attractive and to please other people whom they develop relationships with.
2. People who are suffering from Bulimia to not follow a very strict dieting ritual than somebody with Anorexia Nervosa. 
3. Amenorrhea (absence of menstrual period) is more prevalent in women who have Anorexia Nervosa than those with Bulimia Nervosa.

Filed under: Anorexia nervosa

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