Imagine you are cleaning the toilet on a typical Saturday morning. But as you are pouring the Clorox into the bowl you notice what seems to be dried spaghetti noodles and Ragú sauce under the rim. The irregularity fazes you, but you do not think anything of it. Later that week, your teenage sister manages to make time to eat dinner with the family. She eats the amount of food she would typically eat at dinner then excuses herself to the bathroom. Normal, right? Ten minutes later she returns to the table and fills up her plate again with lasagna and garlic bread. She must be especially hungry today, a hard day at soccer practice. And then she fills up her plate again. Okay maybe she did not eat lunch today, she was probably getting help from a teacher. She excuses herself from the dinner table again, saying she has a lot of homework to do. An hour later as you are cleaning up the kitchen she again returns. After scanning the pantry, then the fridge, she pulls out a frozen pizza and a gallon of ice cream. While waiting for the pizza to cook, she makes herself a sundae. She leaves for a bit then returns to take out the pizza and without even waiting for it to cool, she eats the entire pizza.
The next morning your sister says she is sick and stays home. At the time her intentions seem innocent, but over time this becomes a weekly occurrence, then daily. A few months later, you hear what seems like someone throwing up in the bathroom, but you cannot really tell because the water is running. A few minutes later your sister, startled to see you standing there, comes out of the bathroom. Her eyes are bloodshot, her hair is tangled, and her face is blotchy as if she had been crying. You ask her if she is ok and she replies, “I’m fine� in a harsh, annoyed tone. You want to question her more, but you do not.
Welcome to the uncomfortable realm of bulimia nervosa. In a society literally dying to be thin, turning the other cheek when it comes to eating disorders has become normal. Relatives and friends often believe if they ignore the problem it will eventually dissolve. No healthy individual would want to believe their friend, sister, daughter, even brother is so mentally bruised he or she is making his/herself suffer from a seriously life-threatening disease. However, ignoring the fact that your loved one is suffering from an eating disorder is wrong, very wrong. If untreated and allowed to develop, bulimia becomes a way of life, and certainly an unhealthy way of life. Malnutrition, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, hyponatremia, refeeding syndrome, muscle atrophy, paralysis, tearing of esophagus, gastric rupture, gastrointestinal bleeding, esophageal reflux, insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome, hyperactivity, swelling, callused or bruised fingers, hair loss, hypotension, hypertension, diabetes, anemia, kidney failure, osteoporosis, arthritis, TMJ, easily bruising skin, dental problems, gum disease, liver failure, infertility, ulcers, lung collapse, internal bleeding, stroke, heart attack, cancer: if the physical byproducts of bulimia do not convince you of its detriment, consider the psychological problems such as depression and suicide. You might as well ask your loved one to pick out his or her casket and burial plot.
College, a combination of sleep deprivation, stress, and a constant avoidance of the food pyramid, can be an especially hard time for individuals struggling with eating disorders. Finding the time and place can be additionaly daunting, therefore having a research and treatment center on campus would be ideal. Since the 1970s, the University of Minnesota School of Psychiatry has been treating patients here at the U. I strongly support its continuation of research and treatment options for students with eating disorders for years to come. The pressures of college are overwhelming enough for some students that I believe if they had to seek treatment off of campus they would lose hope.
