Depression AFTER quitting binge eating?

irishdancer23

Okay so this might sound like a really strange question, but here goes. I've been struggling with binge eating for about 2 and a half years now. I used to binge pretty much every weekend, eating pretty much whatever I could find extremely quickly and then dealing with the horrible stomachaches and the guilt for the next few days until I felt normal again. I did it mostly to comfort myself- I noticed that the urge was stronger if I'd had a really bad or stressful week. But I also binged when I was bored. A few weeks ago, I decided it was time for a serious change. Now I've said this to myself pretty much every time after I've binged. But I really feel like this is it. I haven't binged for 16 days, and for some reason, I just feel like I'm finally on the right path. So here's the weird part. For the past few days, I've been feeling really strange and not at all myself. I've been really depressed most days, and some days I have these crazy mood swings. I've also been experiencing a little anxiety, especially in the past 2 days. Before, if I was having these feelings, I would binge. Now that I've told myself that I'm not going to, I find myself almost missing that comfort that I would get from binging, even if it was just for a few minutes. Has anyone else experienced this? I know it sounds really weird, but depression is what started me on binge eating in the first place, and I am NOT going down that path again!

brenn24179

I do miss food and get depressed sometimes when I see a skinny person eating whatever they want. But now I get comfort in fitting in my clothes and I seem to be an overall happier person. I now like taking care of myself which before I would overeat and this was destructive to me. Exercise has helped me feel better also. I now take the time to see what is bothering me and try to work out solutions rather than eat.

It feels good to have some self control and realize overeating is like letting someone abuse me but that someone abusing me is me. I don't know if this make sense but I got to the point where I was going to take care of myself and so I need not be depressed because I don't binge eat, I need to be happy I am taking care of me.

ann121212

Could it be addiction withdrawal?

Your brain is a very powerful tool, if it enjoyed the short term buzz it got from binging it will do anything to try and force your body back to that behaviour. You need to be strong and do what you know is right. Know that when the addiction is broken your body will feel (and look) heaps better.

BUT if these symptoms do stick around seek help - Everyone has an occasional blue day but continued depression benefits from professional help.

jeaniewheeler16

I am guessing you were binge eating to feel well. It probably made you feel good to do it.

Now you have changed that habit and you don't feel as comforted by not doing it. You need to figure out why you binged in the first place or why you started. That will usually tell you why you binged.

It sounded like a combination of stress/anxiety and boredom. You simply must replace the calming factor of binging with something else. It can be anything from a diary, to an endorphin-boosting activity to something to just keep your brain occupied. With letting go of the binging, you are letting go of a part of what you identified within yourself.

You can also re-direct your thoughts as well, instead of feeling depressed or anxiety, feel good that you have made a choice to stop binging. I think we all have issues and strangely, food is one thing we CAN control in our crazy, hectic lives. But good for you for making a smart choice to break your habit. Good luck sweetie, and keep up the good work!

kelly_e_montana

I think your binges were how you dealt with what was at a deeper level emotionally and now that you're not binging, you've lost your coping mechanism. You need to find new, healthy coping mechanisms, to offset what you're missing now that you don't get that immediate distraction/relief/focus on body rather than mind that you did when you were binging.

For me, I actively got involved with things that involved my body in a positive way, like gardening, walking, swimming, and yoga as ways to get rid of some of my nervous energy and make me feel more grounded.

laurynwithawhy

Could it be addiction withdrawal?

Your brain is a very powerful tool, if it enjoyed the short term buzz it got from binging it will do anything to try and force your body back to that behaviour. You need to be strong and do what you know is right. Know that when the addiction is broken your body will feel (and look) heaps better.

BUT if these symptoms do stick around seek help - Everyone has an occasional blue day but continued depression benefits from professional help.

I think this is a good point. I have a background in psych and have taken some courses in eating disorders. You were likely self-medicating with food. Now that you aren't doing that, your symptoms are coming back. It's totally normal. I'd recommend seeing a doctor, or investigating the cause of your depression, since that is likely the main issue, since you have quit bingeing. Good luck!

Smeltzer2

I have had an eating disorder for 54 years. I started o binge eat at 9 years old and through the years either hinged dieted starved or purged. Ten years ago after the biggest binge in my life I asked God to make a normal eater out of me. The next day I started to eat three normal meals. View counted five hours between each one nothing in between. Well by week three my nerves were raw my brother thought I was on diet pills as weight started to come off and I was cryingabd even shaky. I lost 80 lbs by just eating normal meals.it took about five months ir NY emotions to calm down. I had been eating every feeliingvi ever had for years. I never gavecnysekf a chance to feel anything. I snuffed it out with food. It was like with drawl. If I was tired iate instead of going to bed .if I had pain I ate if I had anger I ate. Every emotional. I now journal my feelings or talk to someone I can trust.You will get through this work through your feelings.Good luck

brenn24179

great thread! Yes, it is much easier to eat than deal with these feelings but when we do deal it feels really good! and it feels good to be slim! win,win

irishdancer23

thank you guys so much for your replies, they really help! the addiction withdrawal issue and the loss of a coping mechanism are both really good points. I am definitely going to work on finding some other way to relieve my stress and deal with my feelings in a less destructive way. thanks again for your replies, i can't tell you how much they helped!

bbontheb

I'm no means an expert and still have moments of binging but I will tell you my very recent experiencing trying to make healthier changes. Please add me as a friend if you like? I need friends who understand this as well.

End of October. Decided to cut out most grains. This was for 2 reasons. 1) I have stomach aches/gallstones/extreme grogginess when I eat say pasta, bread, rice, etc. Who knows if part is in my head or because I eat TOO much of it. 2) Because I need to cut off what is in my binge eating items.I found that if I ate (strudels? etc) it or even pasta and such I craved sugar and had HUGE crashes, and depression.

First little bit I felt like crap. Then, I decided I need to eat. A LOT. So, I focused on filling up like crazy with fruits, veggies, protein. No pasta, little sauces, eat at home etc. I felt horrible before I did this. When I started forcing myself to eat when I wasn't hungry (just for establishing regular meals and snacks) I found suddenly my mood started to even out, and get better and no harsh emotional crashes, crying, lashing out, depression, and less need or urge to binge. I do boredom eat so I am working on how to curb that. Last night I mindlessly ate 1200 extra calories in crap food because I wasn't focused and let guard down ("focus on health") and have huge impulse control issues.

So,my experience leads me to ask what you are still eating, how often, how much. The other thing though is that the void I have and still have that I was filling up with food is still there. So, I started having to journal a bit of the random feelings I was having in the day. I used to do the same with smoking, drinking, wild sex in my early 20s haha. The void is still there. I have just begun to focus on things that I've been putting off. Art classes. I suck at art but want to try things. Exercise. Big fear of groups, social anxiety. Trying things at home now slowly. (like 1-2 times a week for 20 minutes). My body is starting to release those endorphins when I exercise and the only thing I can relate it to is like when I eat the bingey food (not after/guilt). Except better. I feel I am still in withdrawal (say crappy carbs) and still needing to learn new *tools* to cope/feelings etc because that void will always come up for me. It's not going to disappear-I just have to learn new tools (I want to learn to do printmaking, metal stamping, knitting, yoga, things like that). I want to learn to meditate too.

Cutting it all out still would leave me feeling empty and depressed so I am focusing on filling up with good things. Lots of good food, good books fore self-improvement, and doing a bit of mind mapping to help release some immediate thoughts, feelings, stresses, anxieties and see them on paper. I have a diagnosis (long history of) depression, anxiety, adhd. I know that I will always have feelings of depression, and have learned in the last little bit a trigger for me is my body going through crashes even though I didn't feel hungry-my body needed more nutrients. Also, I have upped my iron and vitamin D and seems to be a good mix all together...

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