Obesity Is Not The Only Result From Binge Eating—Get Help Fast!
Binge eating can turn into a severe condition if not handled quickly.
If you suspect you fall into this category, then talk to a qualified medical professional to make sure.
When we refer to binge eating, we are not talking about having a large family dinner and overindulging over the holidays.
According to the Mayo Clinic, it’s a severe mental condition that is considered an eating disorder.
What’s Binge Eating Exactly?
Binge eating is rapidly consuming large amounts of food in one sitting beyond the point of being full, to the point of discomfort.
While we don’t know the exact causes, WebMD suggests that it isn’t driven by hunger, but by psychological issues. Issues like rejection, inadequacy, or fear of failure.
It may be planned or spontaneous, and there is no purging involved.
However, it may involve repeat diets or sporadic fasting. For a diagnosis to be made, binge eating must occur twice a week over six months. Even in cases with a lower frequency, it’s still a severe issue.
Binge Eating Can Be Harmful
After binging, there are physical and emotional consequences. Sometimes, these can be dramatic. The individual will be dealing with feelings of anxiety and depression, as well as self-hatred and shame.
It’s a vicious cycle because these same feelings can be the triggers of a binge. Continuing binge eating behavior increases feelings of sadness, anger, loneliness, and depression.
Because of the amount of time needed to recover and execute the binge, social isolation occurs.
Physically, dealing with gastrointestinal distress and discomfort is frequent as the body attempts to digest a large volume of food. There’ll be fatigue and lethargy. It must be done in private because extreme shame is related to this disorder.
Unwanted weight gain is the most critical consequence of binge eating.
Most people wish to maintain an average weight but, many individuals who binge eat tend to become obese, leading to further medical complications.
These include high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, gout, and cholesterol issues.
If you’re dealing with binge eating and it’s getting out of control, consider how you think about eating. There are two primary reasons to eat, enjoyment and nourishment.
Food provides enjoyment, and it provides our bodies with the requirements needed to survive. Binge eating offers neither of these. There’s no enjoyment, and the type of food being eaten isn’t beneficial to the health of the body.
You must acknowledge there’s a problem. Ask yourself if you’re eating for the right reasons and consider the needs you’re trying to meet with food.
Binge eaters shouldn’t diet, even if they’re overweight. Binge eaters frequently turn to dieting. But as diet restricts what you eat, it leads to the person feeling deprived. Dieting leads to more bingeing. You must handle the cause first, and that’s psychological.
Rather than dieting, therapy for binge eating teaches patients to reconnect with their body, deal with emotional issues, get their behavior and emotions under control, and instills healthy coping mechanisms with yourself and relationships. Therapy can support the stopping of binges.
How To Get Help For Binge Eating
Try meditation. Find a good teacher and practice every day. I know a great teacher that I learned an effective meditation from. I will be talking about this in detail soon, so watch for it in a future episode.
If you are dealing with binge eating, another way to gain control over it is by seeking help. Seeing a counselor, or a therapist can help you understand the why behind your eating behaviors. They’ll also give you coping mechanisms to prevent the action.
Binge Eating Disorder is a severe problem, and it’s also life-threatening. It’s crucial to seek proper professional care from a qualified therapist or medical doctor if you need it.
Therapy can be incredibly successful, so look for a therapist who is good at dealing with binge eating.
A dietician can help with creating an eating plan and exercise that will get you on the right track without depriving yourself of the things you love.
If you’re experiencing medical complications, you must consult your physician.
In severe binge eating cases, you may need an inpatient eating disorders setting. But starting with your doctor and a therapist are your first steps in beating binge eating.