Is Binge Eating Making You Feel Alone?

Is Binge Eating Making You Feel Alone?
By Kristin Gerstley

If you have Binge Eating Disorder, you understand the feelings of loneliness. You know what it is like to live in a secret world that no one knows about. You have a big secret, but no one is allowed to see that side of you.

At restaurants with friends, you order just the right amount of food and can’t finish it all because you are so full. Little do your friends know that you had already eaten enough food for three people just two hours before meeting them for another dinner.

You talk to your friends about why you are overweight. You don’t know why, you say. They are just as stumped as you are. They see what you eat and it is small portions. Not even unhealthy foods most of the time.

But what they don’t know is that you have Binge Eating Disorder. You have something that is constantly looming over your head. Food. Food is a dream and a nightmare mixed into one. Food makes you feel better and then makes you feel worthless the very next minute.

You don’t want to let your friends into your secret world though. This is your world and they will not understand. They may just tell you to stop eating so much. They won’t understand.

But, if they are your friends, they will understand. You cannot let any self-limiting beliefs stand in your way anymore. Your friends love you and will stand by your side when asked for help. You mean everything to them.

The first step that you can take is to tell someone that you trust. Stop dealing with this big problem on your own. Ask a friend to just listen to you when you need them. Often talking about problems and just getting things off of your chest will make you feel so much better. Plus, if you are hanging out with someone and talking about it, you are less likely to turn to food. It isn’t as available and you are not alone. You are forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and that is okay.

Get help and find a trusted confidant. Expose your secret world to them little by little, or by however feels right to you. Listen to yourself and let that be the judge. Once they know where you are coming from, they will be able to help you to where you hope to go in the future.

Don’t let binge eating disorder get the best of you; seek a friend to talk to and watch you start to feel better about yourself and your situation.

By: Kristin Gerstley
http://www.endbingeeating.com

Kristin Gerstley is the owner of http://www.endbingeeating.com which is a site that helps people overcome their Binge Eating Disorder. She also publishes a free newsletter offering tips on how to stop binge eating and regain control of your life.

May 25, 2009 | Filed Under Binge Eating, Binge Eating Disorder

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Binge Eating

Binge Eating
By Dr. Jennifer Baxt, DMFT

Binge eating affects way too many people across North America. It is a way for people to deal with their stress, depression or with low self-esteem. Food can be a real comfort, but when it turns into a binge every couple of days that causes a major gain in weight, it might be time to stop and ask one’s self if this binging habit is becoming a problem.

There are some cases where uncontrollable eating habits were not caused by another problem, but many are. Some binging happens as a result of a person’s depression, lack of confidence or stress. People who have a problem often feel guilty or embarrassed for binging, do not feel entirely satisfied that the food is a comfort, eat whenever they feel stressed out, or eat continuously without even really realizing it. Binge eating can turn into a serious disorder when not dealt with. It can lead to serious health problems, such as increased chance of heart attacks, diabetes for example.

How can therapy or counseling help someone get away from binge eating? Believe it or not, seeking help from a therapist or counselor can help a person to change their eating habits for the better. As mentioned before, binge eating can usually be an emotional response to stresses occurring in the person’s life that the patient is not usually aware of. A therapist can help the patient to address their true issues and then work with them to find healthier ways to deal with these issues. This can sometimes help the patient get away from their binging because what was actually bothering them has been dealt with.

Seeking therapy can be easier than a person thinks. What stops most from seeking therapy can be the apprehension of going in to consult a therapist or counselor in person. This, of course, can create more stress for the patient who then eats to cope with it and so does not really help the problem. There are online therapists and online counselors available if the person can get onto the internet. All the individual has to do is put in a search and they will be able to find an online therapist who can help them get away from their binge eating and into a healthier life. The online therapist and the patient can message back and forth; the patient answering the therapist’s questions and the therapist giving out advice or suggestions that can help the patient with their eating disorder.

Regardless of how the patient gets help, the first step to getting rid of the binge eating habit is to accept that one needs help. The next is to find a comfortable way to consult a therapist or a counselor who can work with them. The therapist can help the patient address any issues that might be causing the binging and can help work with the patient to make healthier eating decisions. The therapist will also most likely get the patient on a program that will promote a healthier diet and one that the patient will hopefully stick to for the sake of improving their health.

Jennifer B. Baxt, LMHC, LMFT offers online audio/video counseling as well as works with children, individuals, couples, geriatric patients, depression, bipolar, anxiety and substance abuse. Please contact Complete Counseling Solutions via email jennifer@completecounselingsolutions.com or visit our website http://www.completecounselingsolutions.com for any further information.

May 15, 2009 | Filed Under Binge Eating

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What is Binge Eating Disorder?

What is Binge Eating Disorder?
By Kristin Gerstley

Binge Eating Disorder is a disorder in which people use food to satisfy a variety of emotions in order to cope with them. People may binge when they experience any negative emotion, such as anger, sadness, or depression. Another reason a person may binge is shear boredom. People have used food as a coping mechanism for so long that now that it is a habit to turn and use food to make them feel better. People do not know how to deal with their “life” anymore without food. Binge Eating Disorder is the most common of all eating disorders. It affects about 25 million people.

When a person binges, they usually experience some, if not all, of the following: eating an usually large amount of food, feeling a loss of control while eating, consuming food more quickly than the average person, eating large amounts of food even when they do not feel hungry, feeling better eating alone because the amount of food is typically large, and feelings of guilt, disgust, and even becoming ashamed of themselves after a binge occurs.

The cause of Binge Eating Disorder is unknown. Depression and other emotional problems are prevalent in binge eaters. Many researchers think that there is a connection between people who diet and binge eat. When people diet, they deprive themselves of certain foods which causes them to want it more. When they do give in, they usually eat too much of this food and it most likely turns into a binge. Then the negative feelings set in and they make a promise that they aren’t going to eat bad anymore. This usually results in starting the cycle all over again and this is known as yo-yo dieting.

There are many consequences to bingeing. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are just a few complications that can arise when people binge. Many people can become sick from a binge because the foods that they chose to binge on as not full of vitamins and nutrients. The foods are fuller of sugar and fat and this, obviously, is very unhealthy.

Treatment for Binge Eating Disorder has the highest recovery rate of any disorder. People usually meet with a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. The health professional will ask questions about the person’s past to figure out when they started comforting themselves with food. They will get to the root of the problem and why is started and will give advice as to how the person should deal with those feelings when they happen. If this does not work, some medications may be added to treat the binge eating.

Changing the habit of turning to food is the key point in getting started. Changing all of the old habits will put you one foot closer to stop binge eating and to start getting on with your life.

By: Kristin Gerstley
http://www.endbingeeating.com

Kristin Gerstley is a former binge eater that now has a healthy relationship with food. She is also the owner of http://www.endbingeeating.com which is a site that helps people overcome Binge Eating Disorder. She publishes a free newsletter offering tips on how to stop binge eating and regain control of your life.

Notice to publishers: you have rights to republish this article on your website as long as you keep all links in tact and clickable. Thank you.

May 10, 2009 | Filed Under Binge Eating, Binge Eating Disorder

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How to End Binge Eating

How to End Binge Eating - The Power of the Pause
By John Davenport

Binge eating usually comes like a tidal wave. Suddenly, an enormous hunger attacks you and you feel helpless to fight it. It doesn’t matter what causes a binge eating attack, it is always hard to face.

However, if you want to end binge eating know that there are things you can do. In fact, there’s a very simple step which I’ve used myself and it has helped me a great deal. I call it the Power of the Pause, and it goes something like this.

Whenever you want to stop binge eating, you need to break the process that got you there. Usually, you get a crave, rush to the fridge or the fast food joint, eat without even thinking about it, and then feel guilty and ashamed.

The truth is that once you have the food in your hand, there is no way you’ll be able to stop this binge eating attack from happening. You have to stop the crave from making you overeat. For that, you need the Power of the Pause.

The Power of the Pause is a technique by which you distance the craving from the action you take to get the food. Since it is often hard to differentiate an emotional craving from true physical hunger, this is something you need to do before every time you eat. Whenever, you feel hunger, you need to stop and take some form of action that will take your mind off your hunger. Some people simply count to ten and breathe deeply. Others do some sit ups or go for a walk. You need to see what works for you and tweak it.

For instance, if counting to 10 doesn’t work, then go for 20 or 30. If you need to get away from the fridge then take a walk. You make the pause into your own. But whatever you do, you must program your body and mind to realize that you’re in control, that no craving is sending you to binge no more. If you do that, you will regain control of what you eat and stop binge eating.

Of course, you will still have work to do in figuring out why you binge in the first place, but with the Power of the Pause, you’ve taken a major step to a better life.

To get a Free course on how to deal with Compulsive Eating, visit this webpage:
Overcome Binge Eating Disorder.

John Davenport lost over 30 pounds in his twenties after being overweight most of his life. He now runs a weight loss forum and publishes a diet and fitness newsletter. John helps people to better deal with emotional eating on this website:
http//EmotionalEatingSolution.com

May 1, 2009 | Filed Under Binge Eating

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