Susan Chollar

About the author: Susan Chollar writes for Woman's Day, from which this article is taken.

Often seen as an adolescent illness, bulimia is increasingly afflicting older women. Of the 8 million people who suffer from eating disorders, 90 percent are women and one out of every ten is over the age of twenty-five. Considering that eating disorders remain underreported, the number could be higher. Bulimia—like its twin, anorexia nervosa—is often caused by a change in a woman's life like pregnancy, menopause, and personal crisis, as well as by common causes such as cultural norms, the family, and individual personality.

Many have endured years of silent shame, but now women in their 30s and older are confronting a problem that goes well beyond adolescence. For 25 years Mary Jane Hamilton lived with a dark secret that filled her...