100% People

Compulsive Overeating

1 October 2007 | Author: Hayley

“An addiction to food”

Many experts have used this expression as a way in which to describe the condition known as Compulsive Overeating. I expect many of us at some point or another have felt we are “addicted to food”. I mean we need it to survive! And I’m sure we’ve all had that feeling of discovering the perfect combination of ice-cream flavours and believe that we are addicted to the heavenly taste of mint choc-chip and chocolate fudge sundae! However, Compulsive Overeaters suffer with a very serious condition in which a need for food is taken to the extreme.

The underlying reasons for overeating usually surface from a need to hide “bad” feelings. These are not always related to a previous weight problem, although research shows that those who suffer with the condition are generally overweight. Those who treat victims of Compulsive Overeating have frequently claimed that the need to overeat can develop from previous turmoil, and in which the condition is being used as a way of hiding from this past traumatic history. It can also stem from childhood, and how the person is taught to “use” food. For example comfort eating can be a harmless way of easing light anxiety, however if concurrent with a weight-problem it can quickly spiral into an eating disorder, like Compulsive Overeating.

It is well known that usually sufferers ARE aware that they have a problem, unlike other eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, where the sufferer generally believes that their condition is “normal” and even a lifestyle choice. Compulsive Overeaters are usually hyper-sensitive about their weight problem and can experience high levels of guilt and shame, which in turn can aggravate the condition further and cause added stresses of anxiety and depression to set in.

The day-to-day life of a Compulsive Overeater is constantly harassed by specific “triggers” that set the person to retort to the condition as a way of defeating these obstacles. Triggers will be subject to the individual but can range from frustrations regards to body-image, dieting, boredom, loneliness, and social-deprivation.

Symptoms of this disorder will vary from person to person however there are lists of common behaviours that can be used to try and diagnose the condition:

• Binge Eating
• Extreme dieting
• Eating although full-up
• Revolving life around food and meals
• Uncontrollable eating habits
• Withdrawing from social situations due to issues of body image and weight
• Feeling tormented by food
• Depression and anxiety

Treatment will need to be mapped against the sufferer’s particular condition. Often Compulsive Overeating can be overlooked if a person is suffering from depression and believes their eating habits is due only to this. However, this can be a critical mistake as it will not cure the condition and will only draw the sufferer to use the overeating as a way to overcome the psychological stresses. Treatment needs to be focused on both the clinical depression and the compulsive eating behaviour. A comprehensive programme of cognitive behavioural therapy, antidepressants and interpersonal therapy, in which the patient learns a new way of eating and living can encompass an effective treatment plan focussed towards maintaining long-term weight-loss twinned with psychological stability.

Getting started on a treatment programme can be very daunting, especially on someone who has lived with the condition over a long period of time. However, there are a few simple steps that sufferers can take to prepare themselves to either speak openly to a medical professional or a friend or family member.

• Keep a diary of your day-to-day eating patterns.
• Come up with a list of “problem foods” – foods that can trigger binges or extreme dieting.
• Write down all the different diets you have tried.
• Create a mood chart, recording when you are feeing lowest and happiest.

If you feel in any way that this article pin points certain behaviours you may have or think you may be suffering from Compulsive Overeating, we would urge you to contact your G.P and discuss the condition and your symptoms as openly as possible. Compulsive Overeating CAN NOT be cured with willpower alone and a constant lifestyle of extreme dieting sidelined with compulsive binging can be near fatal, so please speak out!

Useful Links

www.pale-reflections.com - Pale Reflections is a complete support network for people affected by all eating disorders. We offer information and a caring environment for eating disorder sufferers, their friends and family, and therapists & professionals.

www.overcomingovereating.com - The Women’s Campaign to End Body Hatred and Dieting grew out of the concepts contained in two books on the subject of curing compulsive eating and achieving self acceptance no matter what your size.

**Disclaimer** - We here at 100% People are not health care professionals. We have researched issues such as the one featured in the above article in detail to bring you the best of the information available to us at the time of print. We can not be held responsible for the health of our readers and would always urge someone to contact their G.P or a qualified specialist before making any change to their diet or lifestyle.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 3:33 pm and is filed under Eating Disorders, Help & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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