Compulsive overeating is a great danger to human health. Find out how to quickly and without negative consequences get rid of such a bad habit.
For a long time, food has been used not only to naturally satisfy hunger and replenish spent energy. Today, many suffer from the unhealthy habit of overeating. Most people try to literally seize on stress or intense experiences. The refrigerator door opens constantly, even when there is simply nothing to do. It can be concluded that today food has become a means of gaining peace of mind and balance.
Binge eating disorder: what is it?
Eating disorder, emotional hunger, destructive attitudes towards food or compulsive overeating - there are many concepts, but only one meaning. We can say that a person ceases to belong to himself, since his consciousness begins to actively replace such a concept as natural physical hunger and the emotional need to just eat something.
No one can refuse the opportunity to have a tasty meal, especially if it does not require a lot of effort. After all, it is quite enough to walk to the nearest store and buy whatever you want. It is possible that it is because of the wide variety of foods available today that many people have become trapped in the vicious circle of food slavery. The root cause is the presence of a problem of a psychological nature. And this is not surprising, because a simple delicious bun or chocolate bar helps to quickly cheer you up.
Various options for emotional hunger have one common indicator - the desire to consume high-calorie foods against the background of existing psychological discomfort. There are several types of destructive eating behavior.
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Anorexia nervosa
Most often, it is adolescents who suffer from this type of disorder. Growing up children are sure that in this period of life everything is going completely differently from the way they would like it to be. For example, the presence of extra centimeters in the waist area is very annoying, the object of adoration does not pay attention at all, etc.
As a result of a distorted perception of one's own body, including reality as a whole, an active internal protest begins, which manifests itself in the form of a categorical refusal to eat any type of food. Teenagers are trying to assert themselves precisely because of the rapid weight loss. However, the enjoyment of active weight loss makes it even more terrifying to think that weight gain could occur again.
Bulimia nervosa
This type of disorder manifests itself in the form of an almost uncontrolled absorption of a large amount of food, after which there is a rapid disposal of the eaten. To cleanse not only the stomach, but also the intestines, all available methods and means can be used - for example, the deliberate induction of vomiting attacks, the uncontrolled intake of diuretics and laxatives, the use of strict diets.
There is a closure of the pathological circle: after a piece of eaten food enters the stomach, there is an urgent need to cleanse the body.
Compulsive overeating
Each person sometimes literally loses control over their own appetite and, while watching an interesting movie or during a festive feast, eats more than is required. However, episodic cases of overeating do not pose a great danger to human health. In this case, there are no problems from a psychological point of view.
The situation is completely different if there is a systematic abuse of food. The presence of compulsive addiction leads to the fact that a person literally pounces on food and is able to use everything that is possible, indiscriminately.
In the case of this type of eating disorder, a person simply cannot control the amount of food eaten. In this case, it does not matter at all what exactly will be eaten, most importantly, you just need to fill the stomach in a short time. In the short periods between meals, epiphany occurs.
People who suffer from this type of disorder can have various types of obesity. But there are also cases when body weight is within normal limits. Recently, binge eating has become a more common problem and is ahead of anorexia and bulimia.
But you can get rid of the habit of eating mountains of food indiscriminately on your own, without resorting to the help of specialists. Most importantly, you need to establish the cause of this phenomenon and get rid of it.
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Causes of binge eating disorder
The presence of compulsive hunger is a psycho-emotional problem. That is why doctors have established a group of emotions that have a certain effect on a person and force him to constantly look into the refrigerator.
Severe stress
Even a minor tense situation causes excitement. Many people face such unpleasant diseases almost every day, as a result, persistent overvoltage is generated. It is this condition that has a stimulating effect on the activation of the synthesis of cortisol, which can also be called the stress hormone.
As a result of an increased amount of cortisol in the human blood, a strong craving for fatty foods appears, which is very difficult for the stomach. But it is precisely such food that gives a short-term feeling of joy from the meal. However, in order to prolong the enjoyment, you need to eat several servings of fast food at once.
Negative emotions
Excessive filling of the stomach with food helps to drown out the strong and literally oppressive feeling that a person suffers from at the moment of severe upset or sadness. The desire to eat something can appear with strong resentment, fear or anxiety.
Boredom or idleness
Quite often, people who are out of work and spend the whole day at home in front of the TV, constantly chew something. This is the result of the fact that spending time on a meal turns out to be much more enjoyable than realizing the absence of a specific goal in your own life at the moment.
Childhood habit
Most often, from childhood, a person begins to inherit the eating pattern that was instilled by his parents. To understand this, you just need to remember what the attitude towards food was in the family when you were still a child. Many parents have a habit of pampering their children with something sweet and tasty for good behavior or good grades.
Most people grow up with the conviction that food will help to easily satisfy all problems and will be an excellent reward for personal achievement. There are cases when emotional overeating becomes an expression of nostalgia for a warm parental home or times long gone.
Social impact
A wide variety of food helps to distract from constant problems at work, to get rid of nervousness and frustration that has arisen as a result of unpleasant communication with a boss or a colleague. This category also includes a visit to a cafe with friends.
Many people do not even realize that the reasons provoking the appearance of emotional overeating literally pursue a modern person at every turn.
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What are the dangers of binge eating disorder?
It is completely pointless to try to find a way out of the situation with the help of constant overeating and the use of an additional portion of junk food. However, it is worth considering the fact that destructive eating behavior as a result can lead to serious and dangerous complications, which include not only obesity, but also atherosclerosis.
Constant psychogenic overeating can only increase the distance between society and an emotionally dissatisfied person. Both physical and psychological health are at great risk.
If you do not start the fight against binge eating in time, there is a risk of developing the following problems:
- A person who has a strong dependence on emotional overeating begins to gradually move away from loved ones and relatives. As a result, he simply refuses to eat together. This happens due to the fact that there is a fear of not holding back and revealing his secret and dependence, which he is very ashamed of. A person who is trapped in food has no choice and prefers to lead a secluded lifestyle.
- After another bout of gluttony, there comes a moment of remorse for what he did. A person is greatly tormented by a sense of guilt and shame. Increasingly, depression begins to bother, there is a constant feeling of dissatisfaction with one's own life and disgust for oneself. All this can lead to the development of more serious problems, which include alcohol or drug addiction.
- Compulsive overeating leaves an imprint on a person's health. As a result, excess weight begins to appear rapidly, the increased stress on the joints leads to the development of arthritis. Blood cholesterol levels rise sharply, which leads to hypertension. Due to the constant bouts of binge eating, the intestines, heart, gallbladder and kidneys begin to suffer. There are certain changes in the character of a person - there is a strong irritability, anger, irascibility, self-doubt.
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Are you suffering from psychological hunger?
At the core of compulsive overeating is moral satisfaction. Many people believe that the solution to most life's problems is literally at the bottom of the plate. Eating is a comfort in times of rage, stress, loneliness, or extreme frustration.
The main problem is that food can only provide temporary pleasure and simply cannot satisfy emotional hunger. After the next emptying of the refrigerator, the condition only worsens - there is a feeling of guilt due to the fact that they have eaten more than planned and the understanding of the complete lack of willpower.
Compulsive overeating resembles a real swamp, which can be difficult to get out of on your own. To understand how much you are susceptible to this problem, you should honestly answer a few simple questions:
- Do food portions increase with stress?
- If you are full again, do you feel powerless or irritated?
- If the refrigerator is full, is there a sense of security?
- Is food used as a reward for various achievements?
- Eating food to improve your mood?
- If there is no hunger, do you eat?
Even in the case when there are only half of the positive answers, it means that there is a tendency to get rid of emotional hunger with the help of constant and dense snacks. Do not forget about the problem even when uncontrolled overeating occurs sporadically. Only clear and decisive actions will help keep your own appetite under control.
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How to get rid of binge eating disorder?
First of all, you need to learn to distinguish between real and imaginary appetite. At first, this will turn out to be a rather difficult task, especially if for quite a long time bad mood and stress have been constantly “seized”. There are several facts, guided by which you can understand whether it is worth eating immediately or you can still wait a little.
The main differences between real and fake hunger are:
- Fake hunger, in most cases, takes a person by surprise and rapidly intensifies. Very quickly, all thoughts are forced out of the head, and the only desire is to eat something. The development of real hunger occurs gradually, while there is no need to instantly satisfy it.
- Even if the stomach is full, the feeling of false hunger does not disappear. Real hunger disappears immediately after you eat something. As a result, emotional hunger leads to the fact that a person constantly chews something, while the choice stops on harmful products. At the same time, it remains absolutely all the same what is, since the taste of food is practically not felt. When satisfying physical hunger, it becomes much easier to focus not only on the volume, but also the taste of food.
- With a false hunger, there is a desire to eat a certain product - for example, a sausage sandwich, a bun, something sweet, fatty or spicy. If you are worried about real hunger, it will be enough to eat an ordinary apple. At the same time, even those products that a person does not like begin to seem very attractive. In case of emotional hunger, you want to eat something that instantly gives you a burst of energy and simple fruits or vegetables in this case will not be enough.
- Once the emotional hunger is satisfied, only a bitter aftertaste remains. As a result, a person realizes that he again could not restrain his own appetite and went on about hunger. In those cases when real hunger disturbs, satiety gives a great mood and excellent health - there is a feeling of being filled with strength, you can easily switch to more important and serious tasks.
- The main distinguishing feature of emotional hunger is that thoughts about food literally hold down, not allowing you to think more freely. And there is only one strong desire - to eat something instantly. In the event of physiological hunger, you can calmly focus on the aroma, taste and texture of the food, including the sensations that the meal gives. Satisfying psychological hunger allows you to fence yourself off from mental problems, but this approach does not lead to their solution.
Emotional overeating is a meaningless action that can be quickly eliminated by doing the opposite. That is why, first of all, you need to fill your own life with more important priorities.
Consider the following tips:
- Try to exercise every day, but the activity should be moderate. The energy that is born with the help of sports is creative. This is what will make it easy to get out of the quagmire of uncontrolled overeating. Gradually, the body will begin to demand not another meal, but a visit to the gym.
- Set aside at least 30-40 minutes of rest every day. How you will spend this time depends only on you. You can go for a walk, meet friends or study foreign languages. The most important thing is that this activity brings you pleasure and positive energy.
- Communicate with people as much as possible, spend time with friends. The main thing is not to sit at home next to a full refrigerator on weekends. It is live communication that is the most powerful antidepressant that will help you easily forget about all the problems and get away from the daily hustle and bustle.
How to get rid of compulsive overeating - watch the video:
Today, 4 times more people suffer from the problem of compulsive overeating than from cancer. But in modern society, eating disorders are not given special importance, which, as a result, leads to the rapid development of more dangerous pathologies. At the same time, many people who are faced with this problem are at a loss and simply do not know which specialist to turn to in order to get rid of the harmful addiction.
