tag yourself with "Binge eating disorder", "Compulsive overeating disorder" Prayed "food addiction"

Nearly every self-help book or article I’ve read about binge eating disorder or food addiction has a section to help the reader decide if they really have binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating disorder, or it’s a binge eating disorder. “food addict”

There is often a checklist with questions like “Do you eat more than you intended more than 3 times a week?” or “Do you hide how much you eat?”

These books or articles are often written by someone who has no personal experience with binge eating or by people who believe in addictive diseases. By asking questions like this, in your opinion, they are setting you up to conclude that you have a problem.

In my opinion, I prefer to take the opposite angle: If you’re not sure you have an eating problem, you probably don’t. If you have a problem or struggle with it, you are aware of it.

I’m not going to publish information or spend time in my books or shows teaching you about binge eating, compulsive overeating, or food addiction. It is different for everyone. If you feel that you have a problem, you are well aware that you need to seek support for it. It would be arrogant of me to label you as someone who has a problem if you firmly believe that you don’t.

However, if you’re reading this and suspect you have a problem with overeating on a regular basis, then you probably have a problem to address.

I’m guessing your guess is based on your experience with overeating quite regularly, or often thinking you know you’ll “sink in” and feel like you can’t stop eating.

You’re probably involved in an internal debate about what to do: eat less at certain times, try to find a diet with foods you don’t want to overeat, eat “safe” foods just in case you overeat. , etc. This conflict or indecision fits my definition of having a “problem” with food that doesn’t make you happy.

Knowing the symptoms of binge eating disorder or compulsive overeating disorder, it can be easy to take the “disorder” label and see yourself as someone who suffers from a “disorder.”

Why?

Because assuming the concept that you have a disorder and that your binge eating is a symptom of it, a great responsibility can be lifted from your shoulders.

I remember thinking this when I was dealing with anorexia, and then bulimia, and then binge eating. I saw myself as someone with a disorder that I would have to deal with for the rest of my life. It was this “thing” that was part of me and required constant management.

Assuming this idea that I had a lifelong eating “disorder” that had simply changed form, it no longer seemed like I was behaving blindly and stupidly. I no longer felt the urgent need to stop binge eating or punish myself for being weak. I was just doing what people with eating disorders do.

While it’s helpful to recognize if you have a problem with food, there’s one next step that will either keep you stuck or help you get over the problem: take action. Seeing that there is something that does not make you happy, now you have a world of possibilities that can open up because you can choose to take new actions that will lead you to be happy.

You can work on developing your ability to recognize your conflicting thoughts about wanting to eat and wanting to feel in control. These conflicting thoughts are the result of two parts of your brain in conflict… your “primary” animal brain and your “higher” logical brain.

When you can distinguish between the two parties and understand the motivations behind each, you quickly gain leverage over yourself and can move past behavior you are not satisfied with.