Bulemia
BulemiaNot All Black And White
Christmas is a time of joy, but the Christmas of 1988 was one of
revelation for me. My best friend of 15 years unveiled her deepest,
darkest, most private secret; she was bulimic. I was unfamiliar with the
disorder at the time, but when she told me of her 7 year struggle with
anorexia and bulimia, I had to know more, to understand the what, why,
and how. The first article I found on eating disorders was in a glossy
covered periodical, Parents' Magazine. It briefly outlined the mechanics of
both eating disorders, and stated that the majority of anorectics and a large
percentage of bulimics develop the disorders because of sexual repression
in childhood. Dissatisfied with the magazines explanation, I decided to
investigate the topic further. I went to Palmer College of Chiropractic's
library hoping to consume as much information as possible to prove
Parents' Magazine wrong. I found several medical journals, psychiatric
journals, and books on the topic of eating disorders that could affirm my
feelings.
As I tried to rationalize my friend's behavior, I decided that social
acceptability had to have played a large part in her illness. I also took into
account that her mother had passed away about 7 years before she broke
her news to me, and she had also given up her crown as Miss Iowa, so
depression could have been a factor as well. Another aspect of eating
disorders that I discovered is a lack of self-esteem, something I never
imagined.
The first source I found to dispute the sexual repression hypothesis
was in Psychology Today. Dr. Sarah Leibowitz theorized that sexual
maturity is a consequence of the disorder, not the raison d'etre. She
contends that a lack of self-esteem is a major cause of eating disorders in
teenage girls and young women according to the studies she has
participated in.
Depression and stress also play a major role in the...
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