Question

Read the case of the person Annie that hasbulimia nervosa. Your response should be less than one paragraph and include 1) the name of the diagnosis 2) what symptoms you recognize 3) what other diagnosis is possible if any.

Annie is a freshman in college who has been struggling with the stress on transitioning from high school to college. She is homesick and lonely. She has begun to believe that her body is repulsing others and preventing her from making friends. As a result, she has been exercising until exhaustion, taking laxatives, and occasionally vomiting in an effort to change her body. Annie shared that she hasn’t gained or lost weight despite sometimes eating large amounts of food followed by vomiting. Annie adds that she feels more in control of her life now than she ever has before.

Answer 1

1. This patient has bulimia nervosa. In this psychological disorder, the patient generally shows symptoms like eating large proportion of food at one time and then feeling uneasy and expelling the food by forcibly vomiting out, taking laxatives, or doing strenuous exercise to help not gain weight. Forcible vomiting is called as bulimia nervosa purging type. The patient may also show some symptoms like loss of enamel from upper front teeth, depression, drug addicts. These patients have a negative self-image, lonely and do not make any friends. They may also harm themselves or commit suicide due to depression.