Bulimic neurosis, more commonly referred to simply as bulimia, is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder. People suffering from this disease periodically binge eat, and then “purge”, trying to get rid of excess calories through unhealthy methods. Most often, repeated attempts to artificially induce vomiting and excessive passion for heavy physical exercise are observed. Sometimes patients "purge" even after minor snacks or normal portions of food.
Thus, cases of bulimia can be classified into two types:
- bulimia with “purging,” which involves forced vomiting or abuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas after a binge binge;
- Bulimic neurosis without “purging” - in cases where a person tries to get rid of calories and prevent weight gain through fasting, strict diets or excessive physical activity.
However, it should be borne in mind that these two types of disorders are often combined in eating behavior, and therefore getting rid of excess calories using any of the listed methods can be called “cleansing”.
If you suffer from this disease, you are likely to be overly concerned about your weight and body measurements. Perhaps you judge yourself harshly for imaginary flaws in your appearance. Since bulimia is associated primarily with self-esteem and only then with food, such a disorder is very difficult to overcome. However, effective treatment usually makes you feel much better, adopts healthy eating habits, and eliminates serious complications.
Symptoms
If a patient has bulimic neurosis, symptoms of the disorder may include the following:
- constant thoughts about weight and appearance;
- endless fear of getting fat;
- feeling of uncontrollability of your eating behavior;
- overeating to the point of discomfort or pain;
- eating significantly more food during a hunger attack than at normal times;
- forceful vomiting or excessive exercise to prevent weight gain after eating;
- abuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas after meals;
- strictly counting calories or avoiding certain foods between hunger pangs;
- excessive use of dietary supplements or herbal remedies intended for weight loss.
Chapter I. What is “neurosis”?
"To be a slave to fear -
the worst kind of slavery."
B. Shaw
The concept of “neurosis, neurotic disorder” unites a number of conditions that differ significantly in their manifestations - symptoms. How can neuroses manifest themselves?
One person suffering from neurosis complains of depressed mood, inexplicable weakness, a constant feeling of malaise, incomprehensible fatigue in the absence of activity... What can you do in such a state? how to go to the theater, receive guests, go somewhere on vacation? Is it worth spending time and money if you feel overwhelmed and nothing makes you happy?..
The second one commits monotonous obsessive actions, which, as a rule, intensify during nervous tension: endlessly washes his hands, often to the point of damaging the skin; bites his nails, repeatedly licks his lips, chews his tongue, twirls his hair on his finger, cracks his knuckles... Or is unable to get rid of “scrolling” the same, usually frightening thoughts.
The third one considers himself absolutely healthy, but asks for help to cope with increased irritability, aggressiveness, and dissatisfaction with almost everything and everyone.
The fourth person constantly feels sick, listens to the rhythm of the heart, counts the number of urinations, spares no expense on the latest research methods, studies everything that is known about proper nutrition, breathing methods, cleaning blood vessels and the liver, the benefits of jogging and yoga, about the dependence of health on the arrangement of furniture in the apartment, especially beds and mirrors; his whole life is focused on the desire to be absolutely healthy and live forever... then, when he is healthy, but now it’s not life, but sheer torment...
Someone, more often than not females, comes to the conclusion that all their troubles in life are associated with excess weight, and they lose weight, bringing themselves to complete exhaustion, hormonal imbalances, and disorders of all body systems...
And these are not all forms of manifestation of neurotic disorders: it can be fear of open or closed spaces, or fear of going crazy, and “bear disease”, and fear of being in a difficult or humiliating position in society, fear of an audience (speaking, reading lectures, etc.) and many other different symptoms.
There is no generally accepted classification of neuroses. Therefore, I consider it possible to offer one that, in my opinion, better than others, will help to understand what I consider necessary to tell about these conditions.
Risk factors
An overly frequent and persistent “I want to eat” signal entering the brain indicates a person’s predisposition to an eating disorder. The following factors contribute to the development of the disorder:
- Belonging to the female gender. Most often, bulimia is diagnosed in girls and women.
- Age. Typically, the pathology manifests itself in girls 17-25 years old.
- Biology. If the patient's immediate family (siblings, parents, or children) are prone to eating disorders, the disorder may eventually develop in that person as well. Scientists do not deny the possibility of a genetic predisposition to bulimia. In addition, serotonin deficiency in the brain may play a significant role. Excess weight in a child or adolescent increases the risk of pathology in the future.
- Psychological and emotional problems. Mental instability, including anxiety disorders and low self-esteem, contributes to an increase in the normal “want to eat” signal. A person begins to overeat due to stress, a bad opinion of himself, having food in the refrigerator, suffering from diets, and simply out of boredom. In some cases, the situation is aggravated by psychological trauma and severe environmental pollution.
- Pressure from the media. On television and Internet channels, in fashion magazines, people constantly see many thin models and actors. The abundance of ideal figures in show business seems to equate slimness with success and popularity. However, it is still unknown whether social values are reflected in the media or, on the contrary, it is the media that guide public opinion.
- Work-related stress. Uncontrolled appetite is very common among professional athletes, actors, dancers and models. Coaches and family members often inadvertently increase the risk of developing neurosis in their athletes by encouraging young athletes to lose weight, maintain a low weight, and reduce food portions in order to improve the quality of their exercises.
Stages of treatment
Since this disease is a mental disease, treatment should be carried out by a psychotherapist, while taking medications. Depending on how advanced the case is, treatment can be carried out on an outpatient or inpatient basis. But if there is a threat to the life and health of the patient, there can be no talk of any outpatient treatment. Only in the hospital!
At the initial stage, only a course of psychotherapy is enough. During the sessions, the doctor helps the patient identify the causes of neurosis, most often coming from childhood, finds false beliefs that interfere with enjoying life, selects effective auto-training, and teaches how to change behavior.
Medicines are prescribed in already advanced cases, during treatment in a hospital. Medicines are prescribed to improve the emotional state, as well as sedatives and appetite suppressants. With timely and correctly prescribed treatment, all symptoms will disappear over time and the person can begin to live a full life without bulimia.
In addition to treating the patient himself, the psychotherapist also works with his family members. Explains why you need to be attentive and show care and patience. After all, during treatment it is very important to avoid conflicts and stress. Only positive emotions, attentiveness and care, as well as confidence in a positive result give the desired effect.
At the same time, food quality is monitored. Fatty and high-calorie foods are replaced with lighter ones. Vegetables and fruits are introduced into the diet, because the body needs to be restored. The patient learns to treat food not with disgust, but to enjoy every bite as if it were a gift. And volume control is another way to get rid of the disease.
The treatment process is long, it can last from six months to a year, but the result is simply amazing. The main thing is desire and belief in one’s strength, and of course the support of family and friends.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy, or psychological counseling, is a discussion of the disorder and related problems with a professional therapist. According to research, the following types of psychological counseling are characterized by proven effectiveness:
- cognitive behavioral therapy, which allows the patient to independently identify unhealthy, negative beliefs and behavior patterns and replace them with more favorable opinions and habits;
- family therapy aimed at targeted parental intervention in the unhealthy eating behavior of a teenage child;
- Interpersonal psychotherapy that analyzes difficulties in close relationships and improves communication and problem-solving skills.
Trigeminal neurosis
Trigeminal neurosis is a diagnosis that does not exist in medical practice. This type of disorder occurs against the background of developing trigeminal neuralgia.
Worth seeing: Finlepsin for neurosis
Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic disease that sometimes worsens due to provoking factors. The disease is manifested by severe and acute pain in the face that occurs suddenly. Pain occurs in those areas in which one of the branches of the trigeminal nerve is affected. How to define neurosis in this case?
Attacks of pain that occur systematically and constantly contribute to the development in a person of panic fear of their further development, and hence depression appears. In addition, sometimes the pain can be so severe that the rhythm of a person's life can radically change. Thus, against the background of the development of fears, depression, complexes, and heightened emotions, psycho-emotional disorders develop.
Treatment occurs together with the treatment of neuralgia. That is, pain and the cause of its occurrence are eliminated, which returns the person to his psycho-emotional balance.
How to cope with the disease yourself
- Constantly remind yourself of what is considered a healthy weight for your body.
- Resist the urge to diet or skip meals, as this may trigger overeating.
- Develop a plan to deal with emotional pressure. Eliminate or neutralize sources of stress.
- Find positive role models who can help you build your self-esteem.
- Take up a fun hobby that can take your mind off the thoughts of overeating and purging.
Purposeful work on yourself is the best remedy for bulimia, allowing you to quell your ravenous hunger and prevent the need to burn extra calories.
Weekend neurosis
Weekend neurosis, or Sunday neurosis in other words, is a type of psychological complex in which the anxiety surrounding the weekend increases sharply. It lies in the fact that a person who is accustomed to a hectic work week does not know how to manage his free time on weekends. And from here follows a psychological personal conflict that flows into stress.
The causes of this disease:
- excessive workaholism, in which the appearance of free time aggravates the conflict state;
- lack of ability to rest;
- lack of interests;
- loneliness.
Loneliness can lead to weekend neurosis
The most striking symptoms are:
- a person’s state of mind before the weekend acquires a level of increased anxiety, sometimes reaching a special state of increased danger;
- temporary inactivity leads to the development of boredom, melancholy, and internal devastation.
Treatment proceeds as follows:
- you need to find a hobby;
- make plans for the weekend and implement them;
- communicate with friends and relatives;
In addition, assistance is possible from specialist psychologists who, through various trainings, eliminate psychological problems.
Systemic neuroses
Systemic neuroses are a group of diseases characterized by various motor disorders, speech and autonomic disorders. These include:
- stuttering;
- neurotic tics;
- sleep disorder;
- enuresis of inorganic origin;
- pathological childhood habits: thumb sucking, nail biting, masturbation, etc.
Systemic neurosis begins in childhood and often continues to develop in adults.
Systemic neuroses often begin in childhood
Treatment of such a disease is carried out comprehensively. First, a psychosocial intervention is applied, which is provided jointly by a psychotherapist, psychologist and social worker. It is also possible to use medications.
Conversion neurosis
Conversion neurosis is a pathology characterized by seizures in which the patient develops sensory, sensory and motor symptoms.
The reasons for its occurrence are complex, stored in deep parts of the brain and are expressed in dissatisfaction with fantasies and aspirations.
Main symptoms:
- a seizure condition in which paralysis of the limbs occurs;
- the occurrence of complete immobility, similar to “imaginary death” in animals;
- sometimes motor agitation with screaming;
- pain in different areas of the body, especially in the head and stomach;
- vomit.
Treatment of such a disease involves the use of psychotherapeutic methods of suggestive and behavioral influence. Sometimes hypnosis can be used.
Constant dissatisfaction with life can lead to the development of conversion neurosis
Existential vacuum according to Viktor Frankl
“The existential vacuum is a widespread phenomenon these days.
This is quite understandable and can be explained by the double loss to which man has been subjected since he became truly human. At the beginning of human history, man lost some of the basic animal instincts that determined the behavior of the animal and by which it was protected. Such protection, like heaven, is closed to man forever; a person must make a choice.
In addition to this, in subsequent development, man has suffered a second loss: the traditions that served as the support of his behavior are now rapidly being destroyed.
No instinct tells him what he is forced to do, no tradition tells him what he must do, soon he no longer knows what he wants to do. More and more he begins to be guided by what others force him to do, increasingly becoming a victim of conformity.
The existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in a state of boredom.
Now Schopenhauer when he said that humanity is apparently doomed to oscillate forever between two extremes - need and boredom.
Indeed, boredom in our time often poses much more problems for the psychiatrist than need.
And these problems are growing at an alarming rate as the process of automation is likely to lead to a significant increase in free time.
The trouble is that most people don’t know what to do with their newly acquired free time.
Let's think, for example, about “Sunday neuroses” - a type of depression that grips many when they are aware of the lack of content in their lives, when the onslaught of the week's activities breaks off and the emptiness of their existence becomes obvious.
Many cases of suicide could be explained by an existential vacuum. Widespread phenomena such as alcoholism and juvenile delinquency will remain incomprehensible until we discover the existential vacuum that underlies them.
This is true also in relation to criminals and in relation to the crises of the elderly.
Moreover, there are various hidden forms and false manifestations behind which an existential vacuum is revealed. Sometimes the frustrated need for meaning in life is compensated by the desire for power, including the most primitive form of the will to power - the desire for money. In other cases, the place of a frustrated need for the meaning of life is taken by the desire for pleasure.
Existential frustration therefore often leads to sexual compensation. In such cases, we observe a strong sexual desire that has grown out of an existential vacuum.
A similar phenomenon occurs in the case of neurosis. Logotherapy is therefore prescribed not only in nusogenic cases, as noted above, but also in psychogenic cases, in particular in those that I have called pseudosomatogenic neuroses.
Let us now consider how we should behave if a patient asks what the meaning of life is. I doubt that a doctor can answer this question with one general phrase, since the meaning of life differs from person to person, from day to day, from hour to hour. Therefore, what is important is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of life for a given individual at a given moment in time.
Posing the question about the meaning of life, when asked at all, can be compared to the question posed to a chess champion: “Tell me, teacher, what is the best move in the world?” There is simply no such thing as the best or just a good move, apart from the specific game situation, apart from the specific personality of the opponent. The same is true of human existence. We should not look for the abstract meaning of life. Everyone has their own calling and mission in life, everyone must carry in their soul a specific purpose that requires its implementation. Human life therefore cannot be moved from place to place; the life of a particular person is unique. So, everyone’s task is unique, just as the specific possibilities for its existence are unique. Logotherapy sees responsibility towards life as the very essence of human existence. […]
By declaring that man is the creator of responsibility and must actualize the potential meaning of his life, I wanted to emphasize that the true meaning of life is more likely to be found in the world than within a person, or within his psyche, even if it were a closed system.
Human existence is self-transcendence rather than self-actualization.
Self-actualization cannot be a possible goal also for the simple reason that the more a person fights for it, the more he will lose it, since only to the extent that a person devotes himself to the fulfillment of his life meaning, he also actualizes , manifests itself. In other words, self-actualization cannot be achieved if it is closed in on itself. It is only achievable when it is a side effect of self-transcendence.
According to logotherapy, we can discover the meaning of life in three ways:
1) doing a deed (feat);
2) experiencing values;
3) through suffering.
The first way, the way to achieve or realize the goal, is obvious. The second and third require further consideration.”
Viktor Frankl, Search for the meaning of life, in Reader: Personality Psychology / Ed. Gippenreiter Yu.B., Buzyrey A.A., Arkhangelskaya V.V., M., “Ast”; "Astrel", 2009, p. 244-245.
System of goals of a creative personality according to G.S. Altshuller
Source: https://vikent.ru/enc/6215/
