Food addiction, Over eating is very similar to Alcoholism and other addictions..
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but an unhealthy relationship with food does not equal addiction ….
No technically it doesn't But the difference is more or less semantic. It's pretty much the same thing. The struggle people with eating disorders go through is very real. And in the most severe cases competes with some of the worst drugs in how destructive it is to a life and how difficult it is to beat.
But so many of these 'disorders' you refer to are just a lack of willpower. Disorders affect a minority. Otherwise, technically, it wouldnt be a disorder. It would be common place.
When is lack of willpower going to be classed as a disorder?
And you are also ignoring the wider scope, that 'food addiction' for many is just a comfortable excuse. Each person who battles weight loss thinks they have a unique set of circumstances and will use 'food addiction', 'low metabolism' or something similar to keep themselves happy.
The quicker the overweight person can see these excuses for what they are, the better. Unfortunately, this is not part of the overall culture.-2 -
Well, now, I don't buy fatness=weakness, exactly, either.
Nor do I think that the person is unilaterally undisciplined. I enjoy considerable professional success in IT in an environment where only the self-starters manage to make it.
No-one is perfectly disciplined in all areas of their lives.0 -
Wrong answer.
Alcohol is a drug, so potentially addictive. A Burger King whopper is not a drug so saying it is an addiction is just living in denial.
Agreed. To compare drug addiction or Alcoholism to over eating, binge eating etc is well minimizing what true addicts actually have to go through to beat it.
When you steal, lose your job, sell your body and basically do whatever you have to do to get that next whopper you let me know...
When you actually get physical ill because you couldn't have that whole pizza let me know
When you become homeless because you spent all your money on KFC let me know
Otherwise no.
This^
OP I will have 12 years sobriety come January and I GUARANTEE you, passing up a whopper is a hell of a LOT easier than passing up booze!
A true alcoholic is born that way prior to ever taking a drink. Their bodies break up the acetaldehydes differently than the non-alcoholic. Are you going to sit there and tell me that someone overweight breaks up their food differently and therefore has to have it? Are you going to go through withdrawals because you don't eat a donut? Are you going to watch your friends that can't stop eating, even though they know the consequences die? NO!0 -
You guys took this way out of context. I was merely stating there are similarities. Not that it is identical nor is it as serious as alcohol or narcotics. Coming from a family where my mother is an alcoholic severely, and now in recovery and my father quit meth, and heroine when I was a teenager....I know a thing or two.0
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Nor do I eat whole pizzas or whoppers and cannot control myself. I just meant the emotional ties to foods vs emotional ties to needing alcohol and narcotics to feel better can be similar. If you read what I said, actually read.... nvm it is pointless to even try to defend my statement when there are always going to be D-Bags in this WORLD. Discussion OVER!-4
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CiciRoscoe wrote: »Nor do I eat whole pizzas or whoppers and cannot control myself. I just meant the emotional ties to foods vs emotional ties to needing alcohol and narcotics to feel better can be similar. If you read what I said, actually read.... nvm it is pointless to even try to defend my statement when there are always going to be D-Bags in this WORLD. Discussion OVER!
no it's not...you don't get to decide that either.
a quote from your OPNow food addiction may not be as severe but ... is it? Maybe
Right there you said "may not" or is it? and concluded it might be....and since your parents were addicts shame on you for equating your issues with food to an actual addiction.
The underlying issues may be similiar but the effects are not.0 -
Ok first of all people being without food really isn't that rare. And usually what happens is complete collapse of social morality. Look beyond your comfortable life in a first world country for a second and you will realize that being without food is a lot more common than you would like to believe. And that almost invariably it results in the behaviors I described. No doubt most addicts would be little danger to others if they had free and easy access the the substances they are addicted to. And I think you might react VERY badly to being denied food if you where truly starving for it. Most people in first world countries don't really know what it means to be hungry.
And you are still ignoring my points and misquoting me to try and prove yourself right I have already said this.
Severity of eating disorders is not or at least not in my experience as severe as a powerfully addictive narcotic e.g heroine. At least not unless we talk starvation. If you want to ignore what I'm saying to try and make yourself sound clever then I won't bother with you for much longer. You don't want to discuss you just want to soapbox your opinion. If you compare an eating disorder to say giving up a major narcotic then yeah those people have it rougher. Compare it to something like cigarettes or caffeine and unless the eating disorder is very mild the eating disorder crowd has it way worse. But this isn't supposed to be a pity party. Are people with eating disorders not allowed to use the word because it takes away from the achievements of reformed drug addicts or something? What kind of sick world view is that?
You are one of those peoples that confuses being honest and direct with being rude and arrogant. All you are doing is forcing other people to adhere to your definitions of things. Probably because you look down on those who have gotten obese and cite an eating disorder as some or all of the reason for their condition. You think they are copping out. I mean after all why else would you continue this ridiculous debate over the meaning of a word. I am quite sure you know full well the point I am trying to make. You are not stupid. However you insist on arguing semantics because .. shock horror it might turn out that the fatties you look down on might have a reason for being how they are. Then you can't look down on em from your pedestal anymore.
There are lazy people out there who eat too much, most of them are better human beings than you .. good day.
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Wrong answer.
Alcohol is a drug, so potentially addictive. A Burger King whopper is not a drug so saying it is an addiction is just living in denial.
Agreed. To compare drug addiction or Alcoholism to over eating, binge eating etc is well minimizing what true addicts actually have to go through to beat it.
When you steal, lose your job, sell your body and basically do whatever you have to do to get that next whopper you let me know...
When you actually get physical ill because you couldn't have that whole pizza let me know
When you become homeless because you spent all your money on KFC let me know
Otherwise no.
Also agree!
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Ok first of all people being without food really isn't that rare. And usually what happens is complete collapse of social morality. Look beyond your comfortable life in a first world country for a second and you will realize that being without food is a lot more common than you would like to believe. And that almost invariably it results in the behaviors I described. No doubt most addicts would be little danger to others if they had free and easy access the the substances they are addicted to. And I think you might react VERY badly to being denied food if you where truly starving for it. Most people in first world countries don't really know what it means to be hungry.
And you are still ignoring my points and misquoting me to try and prove yourself right I have already said this.
Severity of eating disorders is not or at least not in my experience as severe as a powerfully addictive narcotic e.g heroine. At least not unless we talk starvation. If you want to ignore what I'm saying to try and make yourself sound clever then I won't bother with you for much longer. You don't want to discuss you just want to soapbox your opinion. If you compare an eating disorder to say giving up a major narcotic then yeah those people have it rougher. Compare it to something like cigarettes or caffeine and unless the eating disorder is very mild the eating disorder crowd has it way worse. But this isn't supposed to be a pity party. Are people with eating disorders not allowed to use the word because it takes away from the achievements of reformed drug addicts or something? What kind of sick world view is that?
You are one of those peoples that confuses being honest and direct with being rude and arrogant. All you are doing is forcing other people to adhere to your definitions of things. Probably because you look down on those who have gotten obese and cite an eating disorder as some or all of the reason for their condition. You think they are copping out. I mean after all why else would you continue this ridiculous debate over the meaning of a word. I am quite sure you know full well the point I am trying to make. You are not stupid. However you insist on arguing semantics because .. shock horror it might turn out that the fatties you look down on might have a reason for being how they are. Then you can't look down on em from your pedestal anymore.
There are lazy people out there who eat too much, most of them are better human beings than you .. good day.
This guy? Cause you know me personally at all? Because responses online carry any emotion at all... You seem to like to see yourself type big long "POINTS" so you can feel as though you are some how superior. That is fine!
You are right I won't continue the conversation with you! That is for sure. I was not saying it is IDENTICAL nor that the urge was as powerful as meth, cocaine, heroine etc. I am not stupid. However you seem to know who I am. Right? Better human beings out there and all.
I agree with many of these posters who make statements that are accurate and backed up by FACT. If you want to assume to know me, make opinions about me that are far from the truth then NO, I won't listen to you because I know who I am.
I ALSO FIND IT REALLY FUNNY YOU CALL IT A REDICULOUS DEBATE YET ARE STILL DEBATING. Rofl.... you are the one debating. I made an observation... compared similarities. Not once did I say "I am an expert know all." nor did I say "It is as powerful as a NARCOTIC wow. Read please!-4 -
ridiculous***0
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People actually take time to copy and paste animated pictures in this!
I feel pretty special. I actually did not make the observation about this initially.
The sponsor in the group made it a point, that in studies it has shown similarity those that seek help for food addiction can relate and benefit from the 12 step program etc.0 -
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Ok first of all people being without food really isn't that rare. And usually what happens is complete collapse of social morality. Look beyond your comfortable life in a first world country for a second and you will realize that being without food is a lot more common than you would like to believe. And that almost invariably it results in the behaviors I described. No doubt most addicts would be little danger to others if they had free and easy access the the substances they are addicted to. And I think you might react VERY badly to being denied food if you where truly starving for it. Most people in first world countries don't really know what it means to be hungry.
And you are still ignoring my points and misquoting me to try and prove yourself right I have already said this.
Severity of eating disorders is not or at least not in my experience as severe as a powerfully addictive narcotic e.g heroine. At least not unless we talk starvation. If you want to ignore what I'm saying to try and make yourself sound clever then I won't bother with you for much longer. You don't want to discuss you just want to soapbox your opinion. If you compare an eating disorder to say giving up a major narcotic then yeah those people have it rougher. Compare it to something like cigarettes or caffeine and unless the eating disorder is very mild the eating disorder crowd has it way worse. But this isn't supposed to be a pity party. Are people with eating disorders not allowed to use the word because it takes away from the achievements of reformed drug addicts or something? What kind of sick world view is that?
You are one of those peoples that confuses being honest and direct with being rude and arrogant. All you are doing is forcing other people to adhere to your definitions of things. Probably because you look down on those who have gotten obese and cite an eating disorder as some or all of the reason for their condition. You think they are copping out. I mean after all why else would you continue this ridiculous debate over the meaning of a word. I am quite sure you know full well the point I am trying to make. You are not stupid. However you insist on arguing semantics because .. shock horror it might turn out that the fatties you look down on might have a reason for being how they are. Then you can't look down on em from your pedestal anymore.
There are lazy people out there who eat too much, most of them are better human beings than you .. good day.
"If you compare an eating disorder to say giving up a major narcotic then yeah those people have it rougher."
Well the title of the piece is 'Over eating is very similar to Alcoholism'... right?........
You however, ignore that you are perhaps talking about a minority of people and that the 'fatties' (your choice of terminology) might be the way they are because they simply hide behind excuses presented such as the one in this topic subject.0 -
I know many people that have had great success with the OA 12 step program.0
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but an unhealthy relationship with food does not equal addiction ….
No technically it doesn't But the difference is more or less semantic. It's pretty much the same thing. The struggle people with eating disorders go through is very real. And in the most severe cases competes with some of the worst drugs in how destructive it is to a life and how difficult it is to beat.
I am not saying that an eating disorder is not real or a struggle..I do however take issue with saying that it is same as an addiction, which, in my personal opinion, is a smack in the face to people that are trying to, or have overcome, real addictions to narcotics...
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CiciRoscoe wrote: »Nor do I eat whole pizzas or whoppers and cannot control myself. I just meant the emotional ties to foods vs emotional ties to needing alcohol and narcotics to feel better can be similar. If you read what I said, actually read.... nvm it is pointless to even try to defend my statement when there are always going to be D-Bags in this WORLD. Discussion OVER!
Hmm so people can get to the stage where if they do not have there drugs of choice they get sick. That is totally different then overeating to feel normal? To not get sick? These two things do not even come close in comparison.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »CiciRoscoe wrote: »Nor do I eat whole pizzas or whoppers and cannot control myself. I just meant the emotional ties to foods vs emotional ties to needing alcohol and narcotics to feel better can be similar. If you read what I said, actually read.... nvm it is pointless to even try to defend my statement when there are always going to be D-Bags in this WORLD. Discussion OVER!
Hmm so people can get to the stage where if they do not have there drugs of choice they get sick. That is totally different then overeating to feel normal? To not get sick? These two things do not even come close in comparison.
I've never seen someone end up in the ICU because they cut whoppers and pizza from their diet (noun).
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You know nothing or you would have simply stated "Gee I had the opportunity to witness AA, I wonder if a 12 step program could work to curb eating?" NOTCiciRoscoe wrote: »You guys took this way out of context. I was merely stating there are similarities. Not that it is identical nor is it as serious as alcohol or narcotics. Coming from a family where my mother is an alcoholic severely, and now in recovery and my father quit meth, and heroine when I was a teenager....I know a thing or two.CiciRoscoe wrote: »Now food addiction may not be as severe but ... is it? Maybe.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »CiciRoscoe wrote: »Nor do I eat whole pizzas or whoppers and cannot control myself. I just meant the emotional ties to foods vs emotional ties to needing alcohol and narcotics to feel better can be similar. If you read what I said, actually read.... nvm it is pointless to even try to defend my statement when there are always going to be D-Bags in this WORLD. Discussion OVER!
Hmm so people can get to the stage where if they do not have there drugs of choice they get sick. That is totally different then overeating to feel normal? To not get sick? These two things do not even come close in comparison.
I've never seen someone end up in the ICU because they cut whoppers and pizza from their diet (noun).
Drunk and disorderly is a misdemeanor in my location. Is there are crime for overeating and disorderly?0 -
I am glad I am not an alcoholic, I agree they have it worse. They cant make it to work. But I do run to food when there is a problem just like the alcoholic runs to his beer.0
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brenn24179 wrote: »I am glad I am not an alcoholic, I agree they have it worse. They cant make it to work. But I do run to food when there is a problem just like the alcoholic runs to his beer.
Depends on the alcoholic. You be surprised at some of the functional alcoholics.
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What about the other things that have been termed addictions: gambling, sex, even computer use- is that a misuse of the term. I have heard overeating grouped in with these
I do think something you can be physically addicted to is different
I have a mental illness and i was in a class where they showed us the 12 steps because our lives had become unmanageable even though we didn't all have substance abuse problems and that wasn't why we were there0 -
What about the other things that have been termed addictions: gambling, sex, even computer use- is that a misuse of the term. I have heard overeating grouped in with these
I do think something you can be physically addicted to is different
I have a mental illness and i was in a class where they showed us the 12 steps because our lives had become unmanageable even though we didn't all have substance abuse problems and that wasn't why we were there
Again, you can use the 12 step program to curb many addictions/habits. You can NOT say they are the same as drugs and alcohol as these are psychological and VERY different.0 -
What about the other things that have been termed addictions: gambling, sex, even computer use- is that a misuse of the term. I have heard overeating grouped in with these
I do think something you can be physically addicted to is different
I have a mental illness and i was in a class where they showed us the 12 steps because our lives had become unmanageable even though we didn't all have substance abuse problems and that wasn't why we were there
You be surprise how many people skip work and put things most people value below sex, alcohol, gambling, computer use LOL we will group that with sex. Does someone for example put overeating themselves over underfeed their family. It's possible but do we hear about these cases nope.
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Wrong answer.
Alcohol is a drug, so potentially addictive. A Burger King whopper is not a drug so saying it is an addiction is just living in denial.
Agreed. To compare drug addiction or Alcoholism to over eating, binge eating etc is well minimizing what true addicts actually have to go through to beat it.
When you steal, lose your job, sell your body and basically do whatever you have to do to get that next whopper you let me know...
When you actually get physical ill because you couldn't have that whole pizza let me know
When you become homeless because you spent all your money on KFC let me know
Otherwise no.
I don't know - I was addicted to nicotine and I had none of those side effects. I quit, on my own. But that doesn't mean I wasn't addicted.
Addiction doesn't mean you have to lose everything or hit rock bottom for it to "count". It just means you compulsively engage in rewarding behaviors despite the consequences. And I think that food can absolutely be a rewarding behavior for many. I've never had emotion tied into food for me, so I can't imagine how difficult it can be to overcome.0 -
Ok first of all people being without food really isn't that rare. And usually what happens is complete collapse of social morality. Look beyond your comfortable life in a first world country for a second and you will realize that being without food is a lot more common than you would like to believe. And that almost invariably it results in the behaviors I described. No doubt most addicts would be little danger to others if they had free and easy access the the substances they are addicted to. And I think you might react VERY badly to being denied food if you where truly starving for it. Most people in first world countries don't really know what it means to be hungry.
But that would be about survival, not addiction. People who are literally starving would do anything for food because they want to survive, not because they are feeding an addiction.
I hid behind the "food addiction" thing for years. I blamed my weight gain/inability to lose weight on it constantly. I do have emotional/mental issues that are tied in with my eating habits, but it really comes down to the fact that I had absolutely no self control.
Whether or not it exists is not for me to say. Perhaps it does for others. But I know that for me, it was an excuse.0 -
TL:DR but wow there are some really butt-hurt people in here. I don't think the OP was trying to diminish the severity of these "real" addictions like alcoholism or drug addiction..but you can't deny some of the similarities.
That feeling that you NEED it. Feeling out of control while doing it. Feeling remorse and shame afterward. If the 12 steps help her toward her journey, then great! awesome!
Everyone needs to calmmmmm down.
Sources: Alcoholic father and drug addicted brother currently serving 10 yr sentence.-1 -
I never said that "hitting rock bottom" was a requirement for addiction.TheVirgoddess wrote: »Wrong answer.
Alcohol is a drug, so potentially addictive. A Burger King whopper is not a drug so saying it is an addiction is just living in denial.
Agreed. To compare drug addiction or Alcoholism to over eating, binge eating etc is well minimizing what true addicts actually have to go through to beat it.
When you steal, lose your job, sell your body and basically do whatever you have to do to get that next whopper you let me know...
When you actually get physical ill because you couldn't have that whole pizza let me know
When you become homeless because you spent all your money on KFC let me know
Otherwise no.
I don't know - I was addicted to nicotine and I had none of those side effects. I quit, on my own. But that doesn't mean I wasn't addicted.
Addiction doesn't mean you have to lose everything or hit rock bottom for it to "count". It just means you compulsively engage in rewarding behaviors despite the consequences. And I think that food can absolutely be a rewarding behavior for many. I've never had emotion tied into food for me, so I can't imagine how difficult it can be to overcome.
But smoking has been proven to be physically addictive...there are studies that show it.
Side effects from quitting smoking are varied such as cravings, sleeplessness, tiredness, nausea, anxiety, frustration, increased appetite to control the oral fixation, headaches etc
If you stop over eating there are no physical side effects except perhaps weight loss...
Addiction doesn't mean engaging in compulsively despite the consequences...there are actually physical changes in your brain chemistry that happen....that is addiction.
Going to food for comfort is a learned behaviour that does not lead to anything other than being overweight, underlying emotional issues but it does not change your brain chemistry.
Oh and btw buying smokes instead of milk for your baby is pretty low..and I've seen lots of people do that.
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Hey theres more physical side effect to quitting overeating. Lets see less fat. More blow flow in your body. I'm sure people do not miss overeating like whatever drug of choice is.0
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+1TL:DR but wow there are some really butt-hurt people in here. I don't think the OP was trying to diminish the severity of these "real" addictions like alcoholism or drug addiction..but you can't deny some of the similarities.
That feeling that you NEED it. Feeling out of control while doing it. Feeling remorse and shame afterward. If the 12 steps help her toward her journey, then great! awesome!
Everyone needs to calmmmmm down.
Sources: Alcoholic father and drug addicted brother currently serving 10 yr sentence.
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