What Is Bulimia?

Many people go through periods where they eat more or less than usual. If these episodes are extreme, distressing, or happen often, they may be a sign of bulimia nervosa. Bulimia is a type of eating disorder where you have episodes of binge-eating (eating large amounts of food in an uncontrolled way) and compensation (doing things to prevent weight gain such as vomiting or using laxatives). At some point in their lives, about 3 in every 100 women and 1 in every 100 men develop bulimia (van Eeden et al., 2021). Fortunately, psychological treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are very effective in overcoming bulimia. 

The What Is Bulimia? information handout is designed to help clients with bulimia nervosa understand more about their condition. It includes:

• A summary of the most common symptoms of bulimia.
• Descriptions of what it can feel like to have bulimia.
• A description of why bulimia might not get better

Our ‘What Is … ?’ series is designed to support your clients:

• Reassure and encourage optimism. Many clients find it hugely reassuring to know there is a name for what they are experiencing, and that there are evidence-based psychological models and treatments specifically designed to help.
• Scaffold knowledge. The handouts are perfect during early stages of therapy to help your clients understand how their symptoms fit together and make sense.
• Signposting. If you’re just seeing a client briefly for assessment, or you have a curious client who wants to know more, these resources can be a helpful part of guiding them to the right service.

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.
• Hay, P. (2013). A systematic review of evidence for psychological treatments in eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46, 462-469.
• NICE (2017). Eating Disorders: Recognition and Treatment. NICE Clinical Guideline 69. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
• van Eeden, A. E., van Hoeken, D., & Hoek, H. W. (2021). Incidence, prevalence and mortality of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 34, 515-524.
• World Health Organization. (2019). ICD-11: International classification of diseases (11th revision). Retrieved from https://icd.who.int/