How to Meet the DSM Criteria for Bulimia

The Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) gives a list of symptoms and features of many disorders, including eating disorders like bulimia. There are a few requirements that a patient must meet for the DSM criteria of bulimia.

Instructions

Meet the DSM Criteria for Bulimia

• 1

  See if the patient's eating habits meet the DSM criteria for binge eating. A patient must consume a significantly larger portion of food during a specified time period (for example, 1 hour) than is generally accepted for a person of similar age and build. Also, the patient must exhibit a lack of self control during these eating periods and continue to eat even once he is full.

• 2

  Find out the frequency of the patient's binge eating and purging behavior. In order to meet the DSM criteria for bulimia, the patient must exhibit these behaviors at least twice a week for 2 to 3 months.

• 3

  Rule out the possibility that the patient only shows some symptoms of bulimia during a bout of anorexia. Review the DSM criteria for anorexia to see if this diagnosis is more suited for the patient.

• 4

  Talk to the patient about the underlying reasons for her behavior. DSM criteria for bulimia specifies that the patient must think that her body size, shape and weight can be controlled by bulimic behavior.

• 5

  Classify the patient's behaviors as purging or non-purging. Purging includes self-induced vomiting and the use of laxatives and diuretics to speed the body's metabolism and gastrointestinal track. Non-purging bulimic patients may fast or use excessive exercise to work off what they believe to be excessive weight.