BINGE EATING DISORDER

Binge Eating Disorder affects men and woman of all ages with up to 50% of obese people reporting to bingeing.

As with Bulimia Nervosa, large amounts of food are eaten in a short space of time, usually only stopping once the physical pain sets in or the food is all gone.

The same horrible feelings of guilt, disgust and shame follow after the binge, and the sufferer will typically have very low self-worth, and poor body image.

The binge eater does not use compensatory behaviours, such as vomiting or laxatives, in an effort to rid themselves of the food, although attempts to restrict food intake in the time between binges will often be made.

More often than not, the binge eater’s weight will steadily climb, compounding the feelings of failure and shame that the sufferer already has.

Feeling out of control and in a battle of self-loathing, the inevitable cycle continues.

Binge eaters will most likely have a history of dieting attempts and will be searching for the ‘ideal’ diet which they believe will fix it all for them. They may not understand the cues which tell them if they are hungry or when they are full. They may have developed unhelpful habits and behaviours such as skipping breakfast or filling up on diet drinks in an attempt to manage their weight.

They may describe themselves as being addicted to certain foods and binge eating disorder is often thought of as a compulsive overeating disorder too.

They may have experienced trauma or have had painful experiences in their past and learnt to self-soothe with food.

They may use food to push down unmanageable feelings and eating may help comfort against stress, anxiety and intolerable feelings.

They may have difficulty naming or managing emotions and will often feel out of control and blame themselves for not being able to control their eating better.