Binge Eating Disorder Debunked
What is binge eating disorder?
Why does binge eating happen?
Why do I feel out of control when I am around food?
Perhaps these are some of the questions that you have asked yourself. So why does one binge? Let’s start with a metaphor. Remember the movie Finding Nemo? How Nemo’s father is willing to do anything in his power to get his son back because that is what he needs?
Much like Nemo’s dad, your body does the same thing. Your body craves nourishment, pleasure, and nutrition every single day. When your body does not receive these things, it will figure out ways to get them. Several things instinctively happen when your body feels like it is not getting what it needs:
Your hormones ramp up to a place that cannot be ignored (some refer to this as a hangry response)
It craves foods that will give you instant energy, like carbohydrates and sugar
Your hunger signals get turned off so that it can keep eating food until it has all the nutrients that it feels deprived of
Your thoughts become obsessively about food, glorifying every single bite
So why does your body do this? Because it is living in fear of not being able to get the nutrients again or any time soon. Therefore, it is going to be damn sure that it gets those nutrients when it can. That is why after a binge you might feel both mental and physical discomfort. Your thoughts are telling you that you ‘fell off the wagon’ or ‘broke your diet,’ while your body is telling you it is overly full and possibly even in pain. I call this when the flood gates open. More specifically, if your body has not gotten the resources that it needs to live, when the flood gates open, it is going to take every last bite in sight.
In short, a binge is your body’s way of keeping you alive. It is doing exactly what it was created to do (food=life, lack of food=death). Our bodies are primed for this response. They are primed to respond in what feels like an ‘out-of-control’ behavior in order to keep you alive…. I’ll say it again… to keep you alive. Your body is responding to what feels like a famine, while in today’s society we call this dieting.
The shame and guilt paradox when living with binge eating disorder
So why when this happens do we feel shame and guilt? It’s because we live in a society that does not understand health at every size. Rather, we live in a society that deems thinness as the right way to be. We live in a society that believes someone’s size is within their control, therefore that same control is a side effect of how much someone eats. So if someone is not a size that is deemed likeable they are fed messages to diet (aka make their body respond as though there is a famine), which in turn makes them binge eat producing more shame and guilt.
The solution? A culture that understands health at every size built upon individuals who understand health at every size. Binge eating disorder is a self-created human response to diet culture, and it is not your fault.
How do I recover from binge eating disorder?
Recovering from binge eating disorder can be tricky. Maybe part of you wants to let go of the horrible cycle and another part of you does not want to let go of the pursuit to be thin. Either way, wherever you are, the support of a professional can be incredibly helpful and empowering. I offer both in-person and online eating disorder treatment and I would be excited about joining you on your recovery journey.
If you are interested in learning more about how I work with binge eating disorder or eating disorder treatment, please reach out for a free 20 minute consultation. I also offer eating disorder therapy online, to more learn more about online therapy you can visit this page.