Eating Disorder Help

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Author:
Meri Raffetto

More and more people are starting to recognize that they eat in response to emotions and moods. It makes perfect sense! We are subconsciously conditioned that food makes us feel good. From the time we put our favorite foods in our mouth we get an immediate feel good endorphin release and then to top it off we also can get a feel good serotonin surge. There is no doubt about it, food feels good.

However, there is a fine line between those casual emotional eaters and a full blown eating disorder. This specific kind of eating disorder has been called a “binge eating disorder” or “compulsive overeating”. This type of eating goes beyond your basic emotional eaters. So, how can you tell if you are a casual emotional eater or if you have an eating disorder?

Characteristics of a binge eating disorder: If you have any of these characteristics you may have an eating disorder.

 •	Regular bingeing episodes (eating large quantities of food rapidly)
 •	Feel out of control with food
 •	Feel obsessed about food and think about it all day
 •	Hide food in your house so others won’t see what you are eating
 •	Eat in hiding
 •	Get up regularly in the middle of the night to eat
 •	Go through different fast food restaurants multiple times a day
 •	Have experienced a traumatic event such as physical or sexual abuse
 

If you have some of these characteristics the most important thing is to not go on a diet and seek the appropriate help. Diets won’t help in these circumstances and actually may do even further damage. Seek help through a licensed therapist who is trained in eating issues. If you are not ready for that step then here are some wonderful book resources that may be helpful for you.

Books: Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
Breaking Free From Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth
When Food is Love by Geneen Roth
Feeding the Hungry Heart by Geneen Roth

Geneen Roth also has workshops and audio programs you can sign up for on her website at: www.geneenroth.com

Many people suffer from binge eating disorders and yet they don’t know it because it is not as main-stream as bulimia and anorexia. The most important thing is to not feel shame about this and seek out the help you need so you can create a new and healthy relationship with food.

©, 2005 Meri Raffetto

Meri Raffetto is a Registered Dietitian and a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. Learn about her online weight loss programs and sign up for her free monthly newsletter to receive nutrition tips, healthy recipes, and more at http://www.reallivingnutrition.com.

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Eating Disorders... Eating Disorder - Bulimia Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder caused by a person's feelings of low self-esteem, worthlessness and depression. They view themselves as being fat and overweight, which causes them to resort to bizarre eating habits in order to lose weight. The bulimic will binge eat and then purge. This habit after awhile becomes addictive and they fall into a pattern of bingeing as a way to cope with their negative feelings about themselves. The bulimic binge consists of a large amount of food intake with a high calorie count, usually eaten in private away from other people. They will eat sweets and foods high in fat. Although some binges are planned, most are spur-of-the-moment, being triggered by an emotional outburst of a happening in their live that sinks them into a depression. They use food as a comfort, stuffing themselves and then vomiting. This practice can happen several times a day. The eating binge tends to have a numbing effect on their feelings, with a feeling of anger toward themselves shortly afterward. They are ashamed of their actions and realize they have lost control, which further contributes to their feelings of low self-esteem. This feeling of shame causes them to be reluctant to admit their problem to anyone and to seek help for their condition. The self-induced vomiting is done to compensate for their binges. They are relieved of the full feeling from eating too much food and expect the vomiting to prevent any weight gain from the binge. They also use laxatives, enemas, diet pills, fasts and extreme exercise in order to prevent weight gain. In some cases they will chew their food and then spit it out without swallowing it, thinking this will prevent any weight gain. Like the anorexics, bulimics feel their self-worth is determined by the...