Binge eating is a condition that can have effects on your mental and physical health it also can affect your lifestyle. A person binge eating may experience episodes of overeating that is not easy to control but be positive because there are many solutions for this condition. You may eat large quantities of food in one sitting or over a short period of time but with proper treatment and therapy you can overcome binge eating and all its effects.
During an episode of binge eating, you may not feel good about what you are doing but where there is a will, there is a way! so be hopeful and confident that you can recover from this disorder.
What is a binge eating disorder?
Binge eating disorder is a type of eating disorder that involves consuming large amounts of food. You might do that when you are distressed or feeling anxious. Unlike bulimia or anorexia, which is caused by restricting food intake and losing weight, binge eaters will consume thousands of calories in a single sitting.
What causes binge eating?
Binge eating is not caused by one thing alone. There are many factors that may contribute to your binge eating disorder development, including genetics, trauma and stress. There’s also a strong connection between binge eating disorder and your other mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and body image issues.
What are the symptoms of binge eating disorder?
If you or someone you know has a binge eating disorder, they may experience any of the following most common symptoms:
Eating large amounts of food
Binge eating disorder is a condition that can harm your health. It isn’t caused by dieting, stress or a lack of willpower, so it’s important to understand the symptoms and causes of binge eating disorder in order to fight this disorder and become healthy.
Distress about binge eating
Binge eaters are usually obsessed about their binge eating. It’s common that you may have feelings of embarrassment or guilt after overeating. Or you may think about your binge eating as a lack of willpower or weakness but do not be discouraged by it as it is completely curable.
You feel like you’re acting on an urge to stop while eating but it’s hard to control and nothing will change it. However, it’s not impossible to do so.
Feeling unhappy and poor self-image
If you have a binge eating disorder, it’s likely that your self-esteem is low. You may feel guilty about eating certain foods or feel as though you’re not good enough when you’re binge eating. As a result, you may have feelings that you’re not happy at all, although with a little determination and effort you can be happy once again.
What can help - binge eating disorder treatment
The first step in treating binge eating disorder is to receive help from a professional. You can attend therapy sessions or you may be offered to counsel. Support groups are also available, both online and in-person. If you need further assistance, self-help books can be a good way to start addressing your issues and finding solutions for yourself.
Getting support for binge eating disorder
If you’re struggling with a binge eating disorder and want to learn more about what you can do, the first step is seeking out support. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to your doctor or therapist about it yet, try reaching out to others who are also binge eating. There are many online communities where people can share their stories and offer advice.
Counselling and therapy for binge eating disorder
Counselling and therapy can help you to better understand the reasons for your binge eating. Counselling can also help you to find healthier ways to deal with stressful situations so that they don’t lead to binge eating. Following are some of the ways that counselling and therapy can help with binge eating:
- Psychotherapy for binge eating disorder
Psychotherapy focuses on how you think, feel and behave. A therapist can help you tackle your binge eating and also educate you that how it affects a person’s body. - CBT for binge eating disorder
CBT is a type of therapy that helps you to change the way you think about yourself, your experiences and your surroundings. It can help you change the way you feel about your binge eating disorder. It’s important to find a therapist who specializes in eating disorders because they will be able to give you more specialized help than someone who doesn’t have experience with this topic. - Counselling for binge eating disorder
Counselling for binge eating disorder is a way to share how you feel with someone who will listen. Counsellors can help you understand why it happened and how to change it. They may also be able to show you things from a different perspective so that it becomes easy to deal with it.
Benefits of therapy for binge eating disorder
Treatment by a trained therapist is the best way to treat individuals having a binge eating disorder. In fact, therapy has been shown to be effective in helping individuals recover from their condition. The benefits include:
Talking about how you feel
The first benefit of talking about how you feel is that it helps you to understand yourself better. Talking about your feelings to a binge eating therapist can help you to understand your eating behaviours and identify the triggers for your binge eating, and once this happens, it becomes much easier for you to avoid these situations.
Another major benefit of talking about how you feel is that being able to discuss your emotions with someone makes you feel better. It’s easy for us all to get bogged down by our problems sometimes, but having someone else there who understands what we’re going through allows us not only to take some of their weight off our shoulders but also gives us someone else who can listen closely as well as offer advice when appropriate
Building a connection to your body
The third benefit of binge eating therapy is that you can learn to be more aware of your body, feelings and thoughts. This will help you connect with yourself in a new way. It may sound strange but it’s true! You cannot change what you are unaware of. It might take some time before this becomes more natural but be patient and persistent as it will pay off!
Challenging negative thoughts
The second benefit is that you can challenge your negative thoughts. This is an effective way to break down and overcome binge eating patterns, as well as the habits that have led to them.
For example, if you’re having a hard time with this step and feel like it’s not working for you, there could be something about the way in which you’re thinking about the situation that needs tweaking.
Bringing motivation to change
Another benefit of binge eating therapy is that you can use it to get yourself motivated to change your behaviours and habits. In other words, if you’re having trouble to stop eating and exercising because of a lack of motivation, binge eating therapy can help you stay focused on taking steps toward your goals. It’s one thing for someone else to tell you what needs to happen; it’s another thing altogether when that someone else is yourself!
Support groups after treatment for binge eating disorder
If you binge eat or used to binge eat, support groups can help you feel much better and to learn new coping skills. While attending a support group for binge eating disorders, you will be able to meet others who are also in the same condition, which will provide you emotional support and would make it easier for you to talk about your experiences.
You may also be able to get answers from the group leaders or other members of the group when you have questions about eating habits. Support groups can also provide helpful information that why certain foods are not good for your body and how to avoid binging on those foods in order to be healthy and stop binge eating.
So stay focused and positive because you got this and we will help you in providing all that information required to overcome this disorder!
Question & Answers
BINGE EATING THERAPY - FAQ
What defines binge eating disorders?
Your own knowing will help you decide if you are struggling with binge eating disorder, you will starve yourself for long periods, then eat large amounts, often feel guilty afterwards, commit to gym, exercise etc but still the binging continues, if something feels off about your relationship with food and your body, it doesnt matter what the label for it is, that's not the important part.
How do you diagnose an eating disorder?
We don’t get into diagnosis nor do we think it's valuable, we help people with their struggles without getting to involved in the labels people call it.
Can you refer me to a hospital for binge eating?
Can you help me with my weight?
Therapy for binge eating disorders will naturally have an effect on your weight over the long term as you start to get a deeper relationship with yourself, your body will respond to your understanding. It may make sense to change something later, and you will then be able to stick to a plan differently with our support.
What is the best therapy for binge eating disorder?
There is no one best therapy, the best thing is to have a relationship where you feel seen, valued and heard as a foundation then from there you go on an exploration together which will guide us both to what is right for you, and ultimately freedom from eating disorders.
About The Author
Jason Shiers Dip.Psych MBACP
Jason Shiers is a Certified Transformative Coach & Certified Psychotherapist. Jason has been working with addictions and people in recovery for over 25 years now and is always looking towards the innate mental health that is inside everyone.
This therapy is a holistic view of the mind body taking approaches from psychological understandings, somatic practices and spiritual explorations such as non duality and advaita vedanta.
Jason has been cited in multiple articles about addiction, therapy, coaching and mental health and is a regular contributor to many different websites.
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