Bulimia Is An Addictive Behaviour That Has Negative Consequences

B U L I M I A 

Most people have heard the expression binge and purge and recognise that it refers to bulimia nervosa. Whereas bulimia is characterised by this binge-purge cycle, it is so much more than eating and vomiting. True, a woman or adolescent with bulimia will consume huge quantities of food -- often to the point of extreme physical discomfort -- then induce vomiting. If vomiting is not an option, due to inability or general disgust of the behaviour, she may turn to excessive exercise or laxative abuse. 

But the question remains "why do people do this?" 

Bulimia, like most eating disorders, is not about FOOD, it's about FEELINGS. Bulimia is used by people as a way to cope with unpleasant emotions. Say a young woman goes away to university. She feels a tremendous amount of pressure to prove herself academically. This need to achieve is added to the normal stressors of making friends, fitting in, adjusting to dorm life. She is far from home and family support. These negative feelings of anxiety, stress, and perhaps depression, build up. Indeed, she is overwhelmed by these emotions. But she discovers that her stress diminishes markedly when eating. 

While looking at food, touching and tasting, she feels better ... so she eats. Not surprisingly, after ingesting so much food, she is consumed by guilt and concerned about weight gain ... so she purges it from her system. The act of vomiting causes her brain to release soothing endorphins into her bloodstream, which provides a sense of calm. When the stress builds again, she repeats the behavior; before she knows it, she is addicted to the bulimic behavior. 

The problem with bulimia is that it seems to work, at first. But the short-term social consequences and the long-term medical complications are immense  JUST LIKE ANY OTHER ADDICTIVE PROCESS. 

Bulimia is a very real and a very dangerous addictive illness. If you struggle with bulimia, keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with your feelings, there are simply healthier ways to deal with them. Consider recovery coaching so you can have a team of specialists to ensure bulimia is no longer a problem for you. 

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS IN THE GRIPS OF THIS DISEASE, CALL US TODAY FOR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE. PHONE 07 560 66315

 

Web: www.coachingwithsubstance.org.au

 

Email: info@coachingwithsubstance.org.au

ABOUT COACHING WITH SUBSTANCE (WINNER Best Not-for-Profit 2014)

We are Australia's leading award winning addiction treatment and rehab consultants for gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, eating and internet addiction, along with eating behavioural disorders and co-dependency for Australasia and New Zealand. Call us on 07 5606 6315 if you want to speak to an Addiction Specialist.

Our Founder, Maria Pau is a 4x No. 1 best-selling author on the subjects of addiction and co-dependency and spiritual wellness. She is the Program Director of Coaching with Substance, the first of its kind in Australia as registered public benevolent institution, charity and not-for profit association that focuses on wellness using coaching principles of peak performance. She is currently completing her PhD on Recovery Coaching and is the first registered Recovery Coach in Australia.

We run a cutting edge holistic addiction treatment program and outpatient rehabilitation consultancy firm that ensures you are released from the shackles of addiction once and for all. Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance.

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained Taoist Monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome.

We welcome enquiries from all English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America.

Avoiding A 'Wet Brain'

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome or ’Wet Brain’ 

Background: In 1881, Carl Wernicke first described an illness that consisted of paralysis of eye movements, inability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements, and mental confusion in 3 patients. The patients, 2 males with alcoholism with progression to coma and death. Wernicke detected holes and bleeding affecting the grey matter in some parts of the brain. 

S.S. Korsakoff, a Russian psychiatrist, described the disturbance of memory in the course of long-term alcoholism in a series of articles from 1887-1891. 

In 1897, Murawieff first postulated that a single cause of a disease was responsible for both syndromes – Wernicke syndrome and Korsakoff syndrome. Or, in common terms – ‘wet brain’. 

The term Wernicke encephalopathy is used to describe the symptom complex of paralysis of some nerves of the eye, inability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements, and an acute confusional state. If persistent learning and memory deficits are present, the symptom complex is termed Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. 

Cause; A lack of thiamine (vitamin B-1) is responsible for the symptom manifested in Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, and any condition resulting in a poor nutritional state places drinkers at risk. 

Heavy, long-term alcohol use is the most common association with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Alcohol interferes with active stomach juice transport, and chronic liver disease leads to decreased activation of thiamine, as well as a decreased capacity of the liver to store thiamine. 

Statistics 

* Prevalence data have come primarily from post-mortem studies, with rates of 1 to 3%. 

* The rate has been found to be significantly higher in specific populations, ie, homeless people, older people (especially those living alone or in isolation), and psychiatric inpatients, where alcohol use and poor nutritional states predominate. 

* The death rate is 10-20%. That is if you get it you have a 10 to 20% chance of an early death. 

* In general, full recovery of eye function occurs. Fine horizontal eye movement can persist in as many as 60% of cases. 

* Approximately 40% of patients have complete recovery from inability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements. 

* Only 20% of patients recover completely from partial loss of memory deficit. 

* The rates of the disease are similar across races. 

* The condition affects males slightly more frequently than it affects females. 

* Age of onset is evenly distributed from 30-70 years. 

Eye/visual disturbances 

* Painless vision abnormalities 

* Double vision 

* squint 

Gait abnormalities 

* Wide-based, short-stepped gait 

* Inability to stand or walk without assistance 

Mental status changes 

* Apathy, indifference, insufficient speech 

* Hallucination, agitation 

* Confabulation: Patient fills in gaps of memory with data that can be recalled at that moment. 

Medical Care: Wernicke encephalopathy is a medical emergency. Prompt recognition of the symptoms and a high index of suspicion are crucial to ensure early treatment. Intravenous thiamine (50-100 mg) is the treatment of choice. 

alcohol drugs Wernicke Korsakoff Syndrome 

Functional Alcoholic? 

Early treatment can rapidly reverse the eye problems and improve inability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements and early mental confusion, as well as prevent development of the partial loss of memory state. In advanced cases, where severe prolonged deficiency has led to permanent structural brain damage, permanent thinking deficits remain. 

 

Long-term alcohol use is the most common aetiology for Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, and abstinence provides the best chance for recovery. Referral to an alcohol recovery program should be part of the treatment regimen. 

A balanced diet should be resumed as early as possible. Vitamin and should be adhered to in addition to a well-balanced diet initially, and supplementation can be tapered as the patient resumes normal intake and demonstrates improvement. 

Due to gait abnormalities, unassisted ambulation is discouraged during the initial phase of treatment. Patients may require physical therapy evaluation for gait assistance. Gait abnormalities may be permanent, depending on the severity at initial presentation and the timeliness of therapy. 

Recovering patients will require outpatient follow-up care to evaluate for continued progress or relapse. 

Patients should continue taking thiamine supplementation, as well as other vitamins and electrolytes, until a well-balanced diet can be maintained. Long-term supplementation may be required in patients who cannot maintain adequate nutritional intake, whether from noncompliance or the underlying disorder. 

If you or someone you love or care about is in the grips of alcoholism, call us today for help with choosing addiction treatment options that is right for you at 07 56 066 315.

Web: www.coachingwithsubstance.org.au

 

Email: info@coachingwithsubstance.org.au

About Coaching With Substance

 

We are Australia's leading award winning addiction treatment and rehab consultants for gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, eating and internet addiction, along with eating behavioural disorders and co-dependency. 

Maria Pau is a 4x No. 1 best-selling author on the subjects of addiction and co-dependency and spiritual wellness. She is the Program Director of Coaching with Substance, the first registered public benevolent institution, charity and not-for profit association in Australia that focuses on wellness instead of illness, using coaching principles for peak performance. We run a cutting edge holistic addiction treatment program and outpatient rehabilitation consultancy firm that ensures you are released from the shackles of addiction once and for all. 

Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance. 

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome. 

We also welcome enquiries from English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America. 

Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance. 

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained Monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome. 

We welcome enquiries from all English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America. 

5 Alcoholism Myths

5 Alcoholism Myths

These myths would be of interest to anyone involved with alcoholism – wives, partners, parents, children, adult children (co-dependents) and of course the alcoholic. 

Myth 1: An alcoholic is the falling-down drunk on skid row.

Answer: Only three percent of alcoholics are on skid row. Those alcoholics on skid row are undoubtedly in the last stages of the illness. Most people with alcoholism are in the early and middle stages. They have families, they hold regular jobs, they may not appear to be any different from anyone else. The person with alcoholism may be an automobile mechanic, an officer of a large corporation, an actor, a salesman, a press operator, a stock clerk, a secretary, a housewife.

Clearly the disease of alcoholism is no respecter of persons.

About 80% Australians use alcohol and enjoy the relaxation it brings them. Unfortunately about one in fifteen of these develop the disease of alcoholism. This disease eventually causes premature death or insanity unless it is treated. But it is a slow progressive illness and often requires five to twenty years before its victim becomes unemployable or incapable of being a responsible employee or housewife.

Myth 2: Alcoholics are hopeless drunks.

Answer: Nothing could be farther from the truth. While there is no known cure, alcoholism can be arrested with proper treatment. Fifty to seventy percent of employed alcoholics who receive treatment recover and lead normal lives. For example, the businessman and the doctor who founded Alcoholics Anonymous were once considered by their friends to be “hopeless drunks”. Instead, they demonstrated that alcoholics are anything but hopeless. And the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, through which millions have received help, offers dramatic proof that people with alcoholism can recover. High Functioning Alcoholics (HFA's) are the most common form of Alcoholics, and the ones in most denial.

Myth 3: Alcohol is the cause of alcoholism.

Answer: The exact causes are still not known despite continuing research. However, it is known that alcohol by itself is not the only cause. If it were, then there would be 1 alcoholic for each person who drank alcohol.

We can draw parallels with another disease whose cause we do not know– cancer. Some people develop cancer, others do not. Similarly, some drinkers develop alcoholism, others do not. Like cancer. in another way, alcoholism can be treated and the chance of recovery is better in the early stages. What is becoming very clear that there is a definite genetic factor. 

Myth 4: Alcoholics could recover if they had enough will power.

Answer: Recovery from any serious illness requires a strong will to live. This is not what we mean when we talk about "will power". People do not recover from illnesses by simply resolving that they will stop being sick! They can resolve to go to the doctor. That can help. They can resolve to follow the doctor’s advice. That can help. They can resolve to follow through with any kind of treatment that is necessary. All theses things can help in their recovery from the illness.

Actually, most people with alcoholism have a great deal of will power. For example, the person who has a responsible job and a serious case of alcoholism. By sheer will power he gets to work in the morning on days when with any other illness he would stay home in bed. After a bender he gets up in the morning with butterflies in his stomach and suffers from “the shakes”. Somehow he gets shaved without cutting himself too badly, has a shower, puts on his clothes, and takes a bit of the “hair of the dog that bit him” the night before. The nip of alcohol quiets his shaking nerves enough so that he can get a cup of coffee and a slice of toast to sit in his stomach. Then he goes off to work and somehow gets through the day even though he may feel terrible. This is not the picture of a man lacking will power.

Instead, it is a picture of a conscientious man who wishes to keep up appearances — a person who is suffering from an illness and does not know that he can get treatment for it. Like most people, he believes the myths about alcoholism being a moral problem.

Myth 5: Alcoholism is a self-inflicted moral problem

Answer: Some people are ready to admit that alcoholism is a disease — but then maintain it is a “self-inflicted disease”. This is a pretty silly idea if you look at it carefully in the light of what happens with other illnesses. Being overweight may help bring on a heart attack. Yet, we never say a fat person’s heart attack was self-inflicted. Most people have had the experience of mission sleep and fatiguing themselves, and then catching a cold. Again, no one says that the cold was “self-inflicted”, even though, with sufficient rest, they might not have caught the cold. Thus if we say that alcoholism is “self-inflicted”, we also must admit that many other illnesses are “self-inflicted”. In addition, we do not speak of any disease itself as being a moral problem. ALCOHOLISM IS A DISEASE NOT A DISGRACE!

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS IN GRIPS OF ALCOHOLISM CALL US TODAY FOR IMMEDIATE HELP ON 075606 6315 or EMAIL: info@coachingwithsubstance.org.au

ABOUT COACHING WITH SUBSTANCE (WINNER Best Not-for-Profit 2014)

We are Australia's leading award winning addiction treatment and rehab consultants for gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, eating and internet addiction, along with eating behavioural disorders and co-dependency for Australasia and New Zealand. Call us on 07 5606 6315 if you want to speak to an Addiction Specialist.

Our Founder, Maria Pau is a 4x No. 1 best-selling author on the subjects of addiction and co-dependency and spiritual wellness. She is the Program Director of Coaching with Substance, the first of its kind in Australia as registered public benevolent institution, charity and not-for profit association that focuses on wellness using coaching principles of peak performance. She is currently completing her PhD on Recovery Coaching and is the first registered Recovery Coach in Australia.

We run a cutting edge holistic addiction treatment program and outpatient rehabilitation consultancy firm that ensures you are released from the shackles of addiction once and for all. Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance.

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained Taoist Monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome.

We welcome enquiries from all English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America.