What are the consequences of bulimia?

Question

I am bulimic, I know this, and I'm going through therapy, so please don't lecture me. I know the physical consequences, but I always hear people say things like, "It will cause much heartache in the future." I may sound naive, but what exactly do they mean by heartache? Thanks so much.

Answer 1

Other than the long term physical harm I am not sure what you are asking.

You apparently know that it causes burns all the way up your esophagus, eats the enamel off your teeth and could cause a ruptured blood vessel anywhere from your stomach on up. It also causes your body to consume itself for nutrition. It can damage any and all systems of your body.

You must be in psychological pain to do this in the first place. This would be the emotional harm it does to you. Let alone the time you spend thinking of food.  Time you will one day wish you had back to spend with family, friends and pursuing your dreams. A life spent obsessing on food and how much you weigh is so very sad.

I can understand being upset about being overweight as I myself am. I do watch what I eat and try to control my weight but I won't let it control my life.

There will come a time when you look back on your life, and I don't mean only when you're old. Do you want to have memories of the wonderful places and people you have loved and known or memories of  food you ate, didn't eat, threw up, opportunities you missed, etc...

I don't mean to sound harsh but I want you to realize the miserable life you may be headed for.

We all judge ourselves and fall short. Believe me, there will always be things about ourselves we dislike or even hate.  We owe it to ourselves to recognize these things, do what we can within reason but not to let it take over who we are and what we do, totally.

Love yourself, I know others do!  It also helps to get invovled helping others with worse problems than our own. It kind of puts into perspective our own troubles. It will lift your self-esteem and make someone you help feel better, too.        Godspeed!