If you are responding positively to all or some of these questions then you may be suffering from Binge Eating Disorder. The good news is – there is help out there!
Many things can trigger a binge from feeling fat, gaining weight, breaking a dietary rule, boredom, feeling unhappy, loneliness, a break from routine, premenstrual tension and alcohol.
People with binge eating problems do not, on the whole, seek treatment. Because this condition has only recently been diagnosed many people are unaware they have a problem. They just simply believe that they are unable to diet successfully, have no willpower and all they need to do is find the next new wonder diet that this time will really work.
Many have huge feelings of shame, failure and guilt, and by seeking treatment sufferers run the risk of others finding out. Many hope the problem will just go away on its own. Some people are so ashamed of their binge eating that they go to great lengths to hide it and may succeed in doing so for many years.
Many believe their eating problem is not serious enough to merit treatment or they simply do not deserve help. When our attempts at dieting become every day events and we in turn despair when they are followed by the inevitable binge – this is the time that we come to realise and understand we have a problem.
‘After a binge I feel frightened and angry. Fear is a large part of what I feel. I am terrified about the weight I will gain. I also feel anger towards myself for allowing it to happen yet again. Binge eating makes me hate myself’