Why can’t I stop eating?

The problems of eating at all hours and without control can greatly damage our quality of life.

It is clear that food is an indispensable basic need for the life of all of us, it is even part of the fundamental human rights of every human being. But what happens when the intensity and frequency of eating gets out of our control?

In this article we are going to look at how we can become involved in a situation of dependence towards food and we ask ourselves a "why can't I stop eating?". In addition we will also examine what are the best methods of treatment in this situation.

Why can't I stop eating? Possible causes

Let's look at some of the most common causes why a person might have trouble stopping eating constantly. There are several factors that may be generating this behavior. Let's take a look at them.

1. Emotional hunger

This cause is the most common of all; it is an irrational appetite irrational appetite motivated by particular moods, and has nothing to do with the physiological sensation of hunger.It has nothing to do with the physiological sensation of being hungry for basic survival reasons.

When emotional hunger becomes present in people's lives, it does so as an avoidance mechanism in the face of certain situations or sensations that produce a feeling of high distress and stress.

For example, a person could go as far as binge eating (eating compulsively and (eating compulsively and quickly) because of an unpleasant news that has just been given to him, or when he is under the withdrawal symptoms of some substance to which he is addicted.

2. Eating out of inertia

When we ask ourselves the question "Why can't I stop eating?", it is often because we realize that, almost without thinking about it, we are already opening the fridge. In these cases we eat by inertia, we do it in a basically involuntary way.We are not fully aware of the irrational behavior we are engaging in. We eat in a disorderly manner, regardless of the time of day.

The amounts of food we eat can vary significantly depending on the circumstances in which we find ourselves. If it is a busy day we may eat less than we should, on the contrary, if we have a day off at home we may overeat without realizing it.

3. Perceiving food as a source of exacerbated pleasure

Some people see food as a source of disproportionate pleasure that allows them to immediately satisfy the food drive. to satisfy in an immediate way the alimentary impulseIn other words, for these individuals the action of ingesting food represents the ultimate end of pleasure.

Regardless of whether they are satisfied or not, they seek to have something to eat frequently, in order to feel how they are able to satisfy their desire. What is sought in these cases is to obtain satisfaction and not to satiate physiological hunger.

4. Low frustration tolerance

Having a low tolerance to frustration usually results in the search for satisfaction through food. In view of the fact that there are situations that the subject does not control and whose outcome can frustrate, he/she seeks pleasure in something that he/she can control, such as eating.such as eating food. Faced with this type of problem, it is necessary to develop coping skills.

5. Dysfunctional lifestyle

Dysfunctional or maladaptive lifestyles generally result in the person being affected in various areas of daily life, including eating, which tends to be excessive.

When the subject has an atypical routine in relation to his basic needs, all of them are altered, and although it may be a normal situation for him, it is still detrimental to his health..

6. Body dysmorphia

This disorder is characterized by the fact that the person who suffers from it presents an excessive and irrational hatred towards their own body and tends to desperately look for ways to change it. It is a disorder with a higher prevalence in the female gender.

When this disorder occurs, some people have to stop eating to change the shape of their body; others, on the contrary, eat compulsively with the same objective, only that the change would be oriented towards weight gain.

How to solve this situation?

The first thing is to accept that the behavior represents a problem for our life in terms of physical and emotional health, once we have accepted that fact we are ready to start looking for the best alternative solution.

1. Establish new routines

Replacing our dysfunctional routine for one with healthy habits is within everyone's reach.We just need to start organizing our new expectations with a personal strategic planning method and then put them into practice.

Establishing a number of meals per day, which we should not exceed, accompanied by a schedule for each of these meals, will eventually make us have the habit of eating at the right times and in a structured way. the habit of eating at the right times and in a structured way, without the without the inertia of disordered eating.

2. Attending therapy

There are several effective therapeutic methods to deal with this type of situation. Some of the ones that provide the best results are cognitive-behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy..

All of these are aimed at changing the patient's maladaptive and irrational thoughts and replacing them with more appropriate ones, which will allow him/her to behave in a better way in his/her daily life. De este modo, a través de un proceso de intervención psicoterapéutica que dura entre varias semanas y unos pocos meses, se aprende a gestionar mejor las emociones y a adoptar hábitos de alimentación saludables y basado en las verdaderas necesidades del cuerpo.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• American Psychiatry Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing.
• Bennett, J.; Greene, G.; Schwartz-Barcott, D. (2013). Perceptions of emotional eating behavior. A qualitative study of college students. Appetite, 60(1): 187–192.
• Macht, M. (2008). How emotions affect eating: A five-way model. Appetite, 50(1): pp. 1 - 11.
• Turton, R.; Chami, R.; Treasure, J. (2017). Emotional Eating, Binge Eating and Animal Models of Binge-Type Eating Disorders. Current Obesity Reports, 6(2): pp. 217 - 228.