Introduction
If you have ever taken a whole large pizza after a bad day at work, ate in haste, and not regret it afterward. Well, that’s was emotional eating. It won’t be labeled as a binge eating disorder. It would help if you were at least binge once a week for few months to be considered medically ill or disordered.
Women can relate to emotional eating as they occasionally eat for ease, not for quenching hunger. Work stress, home stress, relationship stress – often people overeat after breakups for quite some time. No regret, no guilt at the end. Using food as a tool to soothe your emotional upheaval helps a lot. But if it happens for weeks and months, then you might question yourself, “Do I have some eating disorder?” “Can it lead to developing a binge eating disorder?”
Well, emotional eating stops once you move out of the emotional spell. It is pretty much ok to eat in stress and anxiety to comfort yourself, relax a bit, take it easy. Eat your favorite food – perfect solution for mood elevation. It works for many. How so?
When we eat body goes into Parasympathetic mode (‘relax and digest’) the whole food. So even if momentarily but you forget the bugging thoughts. When should overeating be labeled as a disorder?
Honest opinion, there comes the point in emotional eating when you stop liking the taste or food quantity. It doesn’t appeal as it used to do. If the point has not been reached and you start having weight problems, eating habits changed, guilt took over other emotions. You might be having a Binge eating disorder – need professional help now to get out of this situation.
Differences between BED and Emotional Eating
Binge eating is not just overeating – people go in a trans-like phase. They lose control, overeating and overeating happens in the continuum. Followed by depression, guilt, shame, and disgust. Food doesn’t bring happiness to these guys. They get trapped in a vicious cycle. Eat, repent, eat more, repent even more.
People with Binge Eating Disorder often make repeated attempts at fad diets to try to stop their bingeing. Obviously, this seldom works and, in fact, usually complicates the problem.
Unlike emotional eating, binge eating disorders can cause both mental and physical health problems if left untreated. If a person is already overweight or obese or has other health issues like
- • Uncontrolled Blood pressure
- • Asthma
- • Diabetes
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Stress can aggravate his prior health issues and deteriorate his overall health. Seek medical help before it gets too late.
BED also influences emotional or mental health – continuous anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and low confidence to face the world hampered the overall quality of life. ‘Shame-monster’ kills a normal way of life. People eat and hide from the world. If you observe your friend or a family member losing control over himself, help them out.
Treatment options for binge eating disorders usually involve psychotherapy or counseling with a medical or nutritional component. Friends and family might also be involved in counseling.
We all do emotional eating at some point in our lives, but not all of us have a Binge eating disorder. Whoever has BED needs our support.
