By Bonnie Harken, NCLC, Founder and CEO
Even the most disciplined of us occasionally overeats, helping ourselves to seconds, or even third portions, especially on holidays or at parties. This is not a binge eating disorder. It becomes a disorder when the bingeing occurs regularly, and is accompanied by shame and secrecy. The binger is deeply embarrassed about overeating, and vows never to do it again. However, the compulsion is so strong that subsequent urges to gorge themselves cannot be resisted.
Binge eating disorder is characterized by several behavioral and emotional signs:
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating occurring at least once a week for three months
- Eating a larger amount of food than normal during a short time frame (any two-hour period)
- Lack of control over eating during the binge episode (feeling you can’t stop eating or control what or how much you are eating)
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Binge eating episodes are associated with three or more of the following:
∙ Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
∙ Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry
∙ Eating much more rapidly than normal
∙ Eating alone out of embarrassment over quantity eaten
∙ Feeling disgusted, depressed, ashamed, or guilty after overeating
In addition, there is marked distress regarding binge eating; it is not associated with frequent inappropriate behavior such as purging, excessive exercise, etc.
There are many reasons people binge. Everyone uses food to meet needs other than hunger, sometimes. It is not about an “event” of overeating. It is about a “pattern of behavior.” It’s also important to remember the relationship with food and eating behaviors are the symptoms of more profound underlying factors for most people with Binge Eating Disorder. Individuals with Binge Eating Disorder use food to:
- Escape
- Reward themselves
- Avoid a stressful issue or problem
- Sooth anxiety, fear, shame, grief, and loneliness
- Express anger or frustration
- Rebel from dieting, from other’s needs, from the “rules”
- Distract from feelings, people, and feared situations or stressors
- Distract from disturbing memories of traumatic experiences
While the exact causes are unknown, several factors are thought to play a part in binge eating disorder. The combination of causes and risk factors varies from person to person. Possible factors include genetics, a history of significant weight changes due to dieting or restrictive/irregular eating patterns, depression, mood disorders, weight related discrimination or bullying, problems with significant relationships, trauma and loss, emotional abuse or neglect, addictions, and sexual trauma.
People who are obese and also have binge eating disorder may be at greater risk for several potentially life-threatening complications, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, gallbladder disease, certain cancers, osteoarthritis, joint and muscle pain, gastrointestinal problems, depression, anxiety, sleep apnea, and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
The experience of living with binge eating disorder is as distressing as any other eating disorder, and often accompanied by a belief that it is a willpower issue, and they are simply not “strong enough” to stop. Within a diet and thin-focused culture, the focus has been on weight loss as the goal. This “treatment” is often promoted by well-intentioned friends, family, and professionals. But with binge eating, dieting is a causal factor in the development of binge eating disorder. So it’s essential for treatment to provide alternatives to dieting for improving health and body image. In fact, weight loss as a goal of treatment — as opposed to goals of improved self-care — can be damaging to the process of recovery.
For recovery to be lasting, people typically work with trained therapists, physicians, and others to address any underlying mood disorders, family dynamics, and complications from trauma. Ultimately, individuals must learn to treat themselves with the compassion and self-awareness needed for lasting recovery. Treatment is about helping people and their supporters begin this process successfully, and knowing it will not be a perfect journey. There will be ups and downs. But over time, and with proper treatment, those with binge eating disorder can find a much more peaceful relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.
Bonnie Harken, NCLC, has been in the eating disorders treatment field since 1987. She was a founding officer of Remuda Ranch Centers for Anorexia and Bulimia. Since February 2002, she has served as the Managing Director of The International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals Foundation (IAEDP). She has also served many major eating disorders treatment facilities as a consultant. She is the Founder and CEO of Crossroads Programs for Women in Pekin, IL. She is a Codependency Anonymous Group Facilitator, a Celebrate Recovery Trained Group Facilitator, and a Nationally Certified Life Coach through the Addictions Academy.
Sources available upon request.
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Affirmations for Compulsive Overeaters
By Glinda West
- My worth as a person is not diminished in ANY way by my body size or my eating patterns.
- I will love myself no matter what my eating patterns are.
- I will judge my days not by what or how much I eat, but by the accomplishments I have made and the love I have given.
- My life is a gift, and I will not let my enjoyment of it be diminished by feeling guilty over my body size or how much I eat.
- I am finished blaming others, situations, and myself for the way I eat. I will take action minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, and day-by-day until I can eat normally again.
- Compulsive overeating is a temporary condition in my life.
- There is a normal eater within me. I will let her/him take over my life more and more each day as I am ready.
- I CAN imagine a life without being a compulsive overeater.
- When I feel stressed, I will close my eyes and picture how my all-powerful, normal eater would handle the situation.
- I believe I will be a normal eater again. I KNOW I will be a normal eater again.