Binge Eating Disorder is the most common and proficient eating disorder, affecting up to 20 million men and women in the United States today. People who struggle with binge eating suffer from feelings of shame, guilt, and often disgust about the feelings and behaviors that this eating disorder has caused.
Do you feel you might struggle with behaviors related to binge eating disorder?
Here’s the good news! You don’t have to live in shame and secrecy anymore — there is hope for eliminating these destructive behaviors and finding a balanced, enjoyable relationship with food, your body, and yourself.
Here are a few of the symptoms you might have if you struggle with binge eating disorder:
- Frequent episodes of consuming very large amount of food but without behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting.
- A feeling of being out of control during the binge eating episodes.
- Feelings of strong shame or guilt regarding the binge eating.
- Indications that the binge eating is out of control, such as eating when not hungry, eating to the point of discomfort, or eating alone because of shame about the behavior.
What does life in recovery from binge eating look like?
- Feeling comfortable to enjoy foods you love and feel satisfied when your body tells you that it doesn’t need more food.
- Being able to go out at night or with friends and family during times when you might isolate yourself due to impulses to binge eat.
- Not starving yourself the next day after a binge, and instead enjoying a balanced routine of eating full meals each day.
- Loving and accepting your body and finding a healthy weight that works for you
- Freeing yourself from feelings of shame or guilt
- And So Much More!!
Feeding the “Inner Hunger” in Freedom from Binge Eating
Sometimes food can be utilized as a method to try to satiate a ravenous hunger. This “Inner Hunger” is not soothed by food and in fact might only be intensified through using food for coping. What is underneath the roots of Binge Eating Disorder? If food feels out of control, what else might feel out of control in your life? What are your values, beliefs, strengths? How can we deepen the positive effects of these in your life so that food does not need to play such a significant role? When struggling with an eating disorder, working towards recovery can feel like losing a relationship — as the eating disorder has been a steady part of your life for some time. I want to help you realize that you do not need to use food to cope with feelings and emotions, and that it is okay to feel exactly the way you do. Freedom from binge eating means releasing harmful judgments and concepts of yourself that keep you stuck in a cycle of pain and guilt.
