Compulsive overeating: the abuse and addiction to food

What is binge eating disorder and what are its negative health effects?

Binge-eating disorder is a type of addiction in which the affected person engages in periods of compulsive overeating (without the subsequent (without the subsequent purging behavior characteristic of bulimia nervosa) by ingesting a large amount of caloric food in a short period of time.

It is based, fundamentally, on the appearance and maintenance of an addiction to food that usually begins in adolescence, and like all eating disorders is more frequent in women than in men.

Episodes of overeating: why do they constitute an addiction?

We understand addiction as that process in which the person feels totally dominated and enslaved by the desire to consume.

It is experienced as something uncontrollableNo matter how much the person uses his willpower, he ends up entering a state similar to depersonalization, a numbing of his rational faculties and a splitting of them, generating in the individual a state of sleepwalking with only one destination: the refrigerator, the place where he will satiate the impulses produced by the addiction to food.

What causes binge eating disorder?

Neuroscience attributes this disorder to an imbalance in the reward centers of the brain.. When eating compulsively, the person abnormally releases certain neurotransmitters related to the sensation of well-being (dopamine and serotonin), which causes the person to become "hooked" on certain foods, especially caloric foods high in sugar, flour and salt.

This would explain the maintenance of the behavior but... what is the trigger? Is it a disorder in itself? Or is it a symptom, a clue, a pathological correction of a more hidden and unknown process? What kind of voids is the person trying to fill by stuffing himself to the extreme? Is he "swallowing" his own emotions due to the impossibility of externalizing them in an assertive way?

Many hypotheses can be generated in this respect, but as it always happens in psychotherapy, it is necessary to consider case by case and person, it is necessary to consider case by case and person by person to know the specific causes that lead to compulsive overeating.

What are the consequences of compulsive overeating?

Once the ritual of binge eating driven by food addiction has been carried out, the person is likely to generate feelings of guilt and shame, as well as regret at not havingand regret at not having been able to take charge of the situation.

In the long run, the person will develop what is known in psychology as expectations of uncontrollabilityAfter a series of failures, the person will consciously or unconsciously believe that there is no contingency between the efforts he makes and the results he obtains. In spite of the different strategies used, he/she ends up again and again performing the action he/she is trying so hard to avoid.

The expectation of uncontrollability

The expectation of uncontrollability leads the person to move from a state of frustration and anger to a state of hopelessness, of passivity, believing that nothing can be done to change the situation (see Seligman's theory of learned helplessness). This can generate dysthymic or depressive states, or crystallize existing disorders, since binge eating disorder has a high comorbidity with other psychological disorders such as depression, mood disorders or derealization.

In addition to the psychological consequences, the person, not being well nourished, will develop other symptoms related to various areas of the body, such as overweight, obesity, diabetes, chronic fatigue or sleep disorders.

Self-esteem will also be clearly affected, as feelings of self-efficacy will decrease after each uncontrolled binge. Because of food addiction, the person may feel weak, powerless and invalid, and generate a whole range of thoughts and feelings of helplessness.The person will generate a whole series of negative thoughts about him/herself that will only make the problem chronic.

How to combat food addiction?

The main challenge to overcome this and any other type of disorder is for the person to believe in him/herself again and learn behavioral dynamics different from those that tie him/her to an unhealthy lifestyle.

It is essential that he/she realizes that the uncontrollability he/she feels is just an illusion.The child, who is fully empowered to make decisions, but lacks the appropriate tools to do so, is highly recommended.

Therefore, it is highly recommended to be accompanied by a well-trained professional who acts in two ways. On the one hand, it is necessary to work on the compulsive symptoms in order to correct and eradicate them, and on the other hand, it is necessary to investigate the causes of the compulsive behavior. The causes of such behavior must be investigated in order to nip the initial pathology in the bud..

Seeing a specialist is essential

The person who feels identified with the symptoms described should not forget that vulnerability is a temporary state, never a descriptive characteristic of the personality.

For this reason, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that vulnerability is a temporary state It is therefore necessary to emphasize the fact that any person has the capacity to tackle the problem by immediately turning to a qualified specialist with whom to face the fight against food addiction. In this way, it will be possible to start making the right decisions that will lead to the improvement of one's well-being.

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