What Is Compulsive Overreating

What Is Compulsive Overeating
By Sandra Kim Leong

Compulsive overeating is an eating disorder than is characterized by a severe addiction to food. Just like with any other addiction, when you suffer from this disorder, you constantly crave for food even though you do not need to consume all that much.

Compulsive overeating is often confused with binge eating, which is a similar, but more serious eating disorder. Binge eating is also characterized by uncontrollable acts of overeating. However, the main difference is that binge eating carries with it a more emotional and psychological impact in comparison.

For example, if you suffer from compulsive overeating, you generally feel joyful after a meal. You feel that your craving is satisfied although you may have exaggerated the amount that you ate.

On the other hand, if you suffer from binge eating, you do not feel joyful after the meal but a sense of guilt, depression and disgust that you have not been able to control yourself with regards to the portions that you ate. You become overly concerned that your last meal just caused you a few extra pounds and that the extra weight is going to have a severe impact on your body shape. You start to imagine the worst in how you look.

As depression is largely absent in the case of compulsive eating, it is considered less dangerous than binge eating, since it has a reduced chance of turning into bulimia. However, compulsive eating can gradually turn into a binge eating disorder if you become affected emotionally and psychologically about your body shape and weight.

The causes for both forms of eating disorders are similar, however. Both are emotional or psychological in nature. Just like smoking, it is not the body that craves the cigarette, but the mind. You may use food as a self-medication to get over your daily problems and this habit quickly turns into an addiction that you cannot get rid of. Or it may be the case that you have been emotionally abused. Or that you have just undergone a bad breakup with your partner.

The fact that compulsive overeating can hardly be separated from binge eating at times makes it difficult for doctors to accurately diagnose your condition. For whatever it is, both conditions need to be treated as soon as the first signs appear. Your eating disorder can escalate to the more serious bulimia if you ignore getting treatment.

Eating disorders are becomming a common affliction especially with young women nowadays. For more information and resources,please visit this site http://www.eating-disorder-research/com.

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Causes of Binge Eating Disorder And Compulsive Overeating Treatment Tips

According to the National Institutes of Health, 2 percent of all U.S. adults suffer from compulsive overeating—making binge eatingdisorder or yo yo dieting more common than bulimia or anorexia. Unlike other eating disorders, which primarily occur in women, binge eating disorder also affects a significant number of men. Binge eating usually begins in late adolescence or early adulthood, often after a major diet. But most people don't seek help until much later when weight gain from their binge eating is causing health problems. It is for this reason that many compulsive overeating treatmentcenters have come up in Orange County, Laguna Niguel, Irvine, CA.

Most experts believe that it takes a combination of things to develop an eating disorder — including a person's genes, emotions, and experience.

Biological causes of binge eating disorder

Studies show that biological abnormalities contribute to binge eating. For example, the hypothalamus (the part of the brain that controls appetite) may not be sending correct messages about hunger and fullness. Researchers have also found a genetic mutation that appears to cause food addiction. Finally, there is evidence that low levels of the brain chemical serotonin play a role in compulsive eating. Such cases need binge eating treatment.

Psychological causes of binge eating disorder

Depression and binge eating are strongly linked. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, up to half of all binge eaters are either depressed or have been before. There is further evidence that low self-esteem, loneliness, and body dissatisfaction are involved in compulsive overeating. People needing compulsive overeating treatment may also have trouble with impulse control and managing and expressing their feelings.

Social and cultural causes of binge eating disorder

Social pressure to be thin can add to the shame binge eaters feel and fuel their emotional eating. The way one is raised can also increase the risk for binge eating disorder. Some parents unwittingly set the stage for bingeing by using food to comfort, dismiss, or reward their children. Children who are exposed to frequent critical comments about their bodies and weight are also vulnerable.

Effects of binge eating disorder

People with binge eating disorder report more health issues, stress, insomnia, and suicidal thoughts than people without an eating disorder. Depression, anxiety, and substance abuse are common side effects as well. Binge eating also interferes with a person's relationships and career.

Binge eating support and Treatment - Orange County, Laguna Niguel, Irvine, CA

It can be difficult to overcome binge eating and food addiction. Unlike other addictions, your "drug" is necessary for survival, so you don't have the option of avoiding it. Instead, you must develop a healthier relationship with food—a relationship that's based on meeting your nutritional needs, not your emotional ones.

Overcoming binge eating disorder also involves getting emotional eating under control. Eating right and listening to your body is an essential step in stopping binge eating. Other strategies that help include practicing relaxation techniques, staying connected to family and friends, and making time for things you enjoy as part of your daily schedule.

Source: helpguide.org


Originally published by Abbie Ryan on September 17, 2010 on SooperArticles