Binge eating and coexisting mental health concerns

Venobambino

Hi. I'm Vanessa and I became a member of this group a couple years ago and then I just gave up, stayed off mfp, but now I'm back, starting again for what seems like the 100th time. Wondering if anyone else here has any coexisting mental health stuff going on on top of BED. I was recently diagnosed with cyclothymia (a type of low level bipolar) and BED is one of the AWESOME symptoms that go along with it. It all makes sense to me now, why I could never stick with it. I'm now on medication and am in therapy and I'm hoping that these things will help me stay the course this time. I also know I need to start exercising to help my brain. Anyway, just wanted to say hi, wondering if any of you guys would be willing to add me to their friends list so I had extra support, and wondering if anyone is dealing with a similar situation and any advice you might have for me. I'm tired of this. Want to change, not just to lose weight, but to conquer!!

HealthyHappyMom37

I have been struggling with binge eating and anxiety most of my life. I feel like I have been making small steps to recovery for the last 15 years. It doesn’t feel like I’m making progress until I think back about my earlier eating habits and emotional instability. I try to read and get as much information as I can on my diagnosis. I just read the book Brain Over Binge which was very insightful. Good luck on your journey. It sounds like you are on the right path.

Venobambino

Thank you! I'll check that book out. Need all the help I can get. Think I'm going to reread Women, Food, and God again also. Amazing book if you haven't read it.

HealthyHappyMom37

I just started reading Women, Food, and God. It sounds like it is a good one. I feel like I have things under control and then I start binging again. I am trying to remind myself that each day I just need to commit to eating healthy for that day. Sometimes thinking of needing to eat healthy for the rest of my life feels very overwhelming.

RunawayCurves

Same here on and off MFP for years, lost all the weight twice and put it back on plus more, decades of endless yo yo weight fluctuations, feel like I have done every diet and lifestyle change option under the sun. I have been diagnosed with binge eating disorder, high functioning autism, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and dissociative identity disorder. I also have an under active thyroid, PCOS, extensive family history of obesity and addiction. So easy to write myself off as a hopeless case but gone from 336 lb down to 278 lb since April despite all of that. I find the bipolar and dissociative identity particularly screw up my efforts to eat healthy. Sometimes my only option is damage control after the event. With bipolar when I am in worst parts of depression my appetite is ravenous and insatiable but when hypomanic or manic I am not interested in food. Brain chemistry and hormonal fluctuations are so powerful and no one can understand how powerful unless experienced it. Never give up though. I am doing well using intermittent fasting. I still binge but not as often and am able to lose weight without feeling deprived. I just get back on track after bad bipolar episodes.

Venobambino

Sorry I just saw this. Lol. Wow! See, you are a fighter. I saw your progress pics and you have done so well! I applaud you! I probably have half the stuff you mentioned just never got officially diagnosed. It sucks for sure. Hoping that my new meds will even me out a little and I'll be able to focus on my health better. Glad to know you

Venobambino

HealthyHappyMom37 wrote: »

I just started reading Women, Food, and God. It sounds like it is a good one. I feel like I have things under control and then I start binging again. I am trying to remind myself that each day I just need to commit to eating healthy for that day. Sometimes thinking of needing to eat healthy for the rest of my life feels very overwhelming.

One of the best quotes I ever heard, that keeps me going and maybe will help you too, is "there are 365 days in a year to be awesome. Even if you don't do so well on 65 of those days, that's still 300 days of being awesome." Put things into perspective for me because I have a tendency to be all or nothing.

KnitOrMiss

As long as we get back up any time we get knocked down, we're not done for. I LOVE this quote above... 300 days of awesome... We should all remember and take heart from that.

I gained a lot of my weight due to being on anti-psychotics for bipolar disorder that was later determined to be an incorrect diagnosis, but I still don't know what's accurate, as I do have periodic and brief spins that I can only classify as hypomanic, but I haven't had one in a while...

(Once I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and treated to a reasonable level, AND I got divorced from a miserable marriage, the majority of my symptoms resolved or reduced to "normal" mental health levels not requiring medication - and because there aren't black and white blood tests for these type of issues, I've still no idea what is, was, or wasn't the problem. I just know that no bipolar meds worked well for more than 6 months, and all they did was affect my blood sugar, sleep, and caused massive weight gain.)

Amino acids/neurotransmitters really seem to trigger them for me, as do hormonal shifts, but lately I think I've had those handled, sorta, so maybe that's part of why I haven't been spinning lately...or I just haven't noticed is as much...

All the hugs to all of us who keep fighting. And honestly, I think most eating disorders have a root cause or shared cause with some kind of mental disorder/issue, so I think that the mental health issues plague us all... (HUGS) @Venobambino