A 19-year-old woman excessively concerned about her weight eventually became anorexic, but was unable to control her appetite because she was also bulimic. Doctors say that people with similar eating disorders should undergo psychotherapy in order to control their symptoms.
Upon starting college, the 19-year-old, going by the alias Hsiao Chen, was concerned about her physical appearance and thought that her waist was too big and her legs were too fat, so she would often only eat one meal per day, or merely drink beverages. Her inappropriate dieting, however, typically led to bouts of gluttony after days of fasting. She would often eat a bowl of beef noodles, a large pizza and a fast food meal all in one sitting.
Hsiao Chen soon became anorexic due to overwhelming feelings of guilt from eating too much, and constantly thinking of ways to make herself vomit after eating, it soon turned into a vicious cycle. After her parents found out, they took her to a doctor.
Photo: Pan Hsing-hui, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者潘杏惠
Liang Kuei-yu, a doctor at Wei Gong Memorial Hospital’s Psychotherapy Center, says that bulimia is a common eating disorder, adding that more than 90 percent of bulimics are female and that it usually occurs during adolescence and early adulthood. Over the past several decades, the prevalence of bulimia has gradually increased, usually occurring among dance students, models and people working in stressful jobs, she says.
Even though bulimics might work hard to control their diet, as soon as their willpower is compromised it is easy for them to fall back into a negative spiral of overeating, induced vomiting and fasting, which in some cases can lead to harmful behavior such as self-harm, drug abuse, alcoholism and kleptomania, Liang says.
The first step to recovery, Liang says, is reducing improper dietary habits. She suggests consulting a psychiatrist or psychologist first, using psychotherapy before adding the appropriate medication to build an integrated therapeutic approach that will effectively control the symptoms.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
一名十九歲女子因對體重斤斤計較,減肥過度罹患厭食症,卻又無法控制食欲併發暴食症,醫師提醒患者應先接受心理治療,症狀才能有效控制。
十九歲小珍(化名)進入專科就讀後,因重視外型覺得腰粗腿壯,常常一天只吃一餐,甚至只喝飲料,但因減肥不當,往往節食數天後又暴飲暴食,常一口氣吃掉一碗牛肉麵、一個大披薩和一份速食套餐。
小珍因吃太多產生罪惡感,又衍生厭食症,只要進食就會想盡辦法催吐,形成惡性循環,家人發現後帶她就醫治療。
為恭醫院精神醫療中心醫師梁珪瑜指出,暴食症是一種常見飲食障礙症,逾九成患者是女性,好發於青少年期和成年早期,過去幾十年來發生率逐漸上升,而舞蹈班學生、模特兒和高工作壓力等特定族群罹病風險也較高。
梁珪瑜表示,暴食症患者雖然努力控制飲食,但只要意志薄弱,就易出現暴食、催吐、節食的惡性循環,甚至衍生自殘、濫用藥物、酗酒、偷竊等負面行為。
梁珪瑜說,治療首要先減少不當飲食行為,建議先徵詢精神科醫師或臨床心理師,從心理入手再搭配藥物進行整合性治療,才有效控制症狀。
(自由時報記者林欣漢)
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