Thoughts from bingers?

charlieandcarol
charlieandcarol Posts: 302 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was reading about a gambling treatment centre that treats gambling addicition in a different way to how many other traditional centres do. This is because they believe that people are generally depressed and/or anxious because they have gambled excessively with its consequences NOT that they gamble excessively because they have depression and/or anxiety.

This got me to thinking about a book I read but have forgotten the author, who spent 10+ years trying to find out what her psychological/mental health issues were that caused her to binge when she met a psychologist who suggested it was just a habit, a behavioural pattern driven by repetition, not by some deep psychological reason. So she changed her patterns and "just stopped". I am sure this doesn't apply to everyone who binge eats, some people have had real trauma in their lives but I know that as far as I can tell I have had a pretty good life with no real reason to trigger the behavior.

I have always thought that I binged because of being depressed and anxious (neither has ever been diagnosed by doctor, not that I have ever sort to go down the diagnosis path). But now I am wondering if I am depressed and anxious because I binge?

Or is it a chicken and egg situation?

What has been your experience?

Replies

  • __leis__
    __leis__ Posts: 100 Member
    I know for me, when I start to feel depressed or anxious then I immediately go to the pantry. Then it's easy for me to feel bad about eating so much garbage and I feel like a failure so I eat more.
    For the last 3 weeks I've been waking up a 5 or 6 in the morning and walking 4 or 5 miles. Exercising at the beginning of the day puts me in such a good mood, so far I've been able to deal with all the stresses of daily life without turning to food. Also, I don't have much junk in my house at the moment so if I did want to binge I'd probably have to binge on fruit or Ritz crackers.
  • ssks
    ssks Posts: 3 Member
    I tend to binge under intense stress. I generally binge on chocolate/candy. I don't know if the sugar gives me an instant high and helps eleviate the stress? I don't keep this food in my house. Its EVERYWHERE at work. I've done better lately, but occasionally falter:/
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    I binge usually only when I start dieting. Its really weird, and doesn't happen too often, but I can feel when they are coming on....Its really strange how it works. Sometimes I try my hardest to fight it off and do, and other times by the time I know it, I've eaten chips, popcorn, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, milk, and a ramen noodle soup! What I find interesting is when I do binge, I look for basically any kind of food. I feel like I'm...I can't say craving....but something along those lines.....Its different from a normal craving when I'm just like ommmg I want some chips! When I get a binge, its more like "give me everything, I want everything"
  • Jamidi
    Jamidi Posts: 233 Member
    I'm in the same boat. I'm trying to change multiple things at once. No tv - it's gone! And I thought I would miss it but it's a relief. Strangely it has helped with my eating. Instead of being bored in front of the tv and eating I find something to do - exercise, puzzles, cleaning, whatever. For me, I did not realize how much I associated food and tv.
  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
    Brain over Binge by Kathryn Hansen. I agree with her rationale.
  • annapage38
    annapage38 Posts: 110 Member
    I was a boredom, emotional, stress and whatever else binge eater. I would eat at anything. Almost constantly.

    In my experience (and with others) it's definitely a viscous circle you have with yourself. You feel crap so you eat, then you're *kitten* off that you've not got the body you want or thought you had so eat again and then feel crap because you just ate... more food. It's a hard cycle to break - but I guarantee if you can break the eating habits... your depression/anxiety will reduce or vice versa
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited May 2016
    I'm working on this too. I'm reading "Brain over binge", and I agree, it sounds like that's the one. Hansen explains bingeing as eating from habit, and to make the nagging voice shut up, which in turn just makes it stronger. I think bingeing mostly is food triggered, not emotion triggered. (At least for me it is; I believed I was an emotional eater, and it took a long time to figure out I just like to eat. I need flavor. Diet food makes me go crazy. Real food made it possible to reach and stay at goal weight. But every day is still a challenge.) Depression and anxiety has always existed, but obesity was rare until recently. It would be too much of a coincidence that so many people got serious emotional issues, and suddenly lost all willpower, just when hyperpalatable foods became freely available.
  • caammph
    caammph Posts: 105 Member
    I can say that the vast majority of my binges have been triggered by stress. I;m going to check out that book, thank you for posting!
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    Stress, especially anger, can trigger it for me, as can smells. If someone bakes at my house, I leave. No dark triggering incident in my history. In fact, I'd say I learned the behaviour slowly over time, by downing sugary carbs in an effort to prolong the time I was able to pay attention to a task. It probably began with cramming for exams.
  • charlieandcarol
    charlieandcarol Posts: 302 Member
    Thanks I think it was Brain over Binge. Its funny how I read that but it was actually an obscure article about gambling addiction that got me really thinking. I am the sort of person who has everything under control except my weight and I have never been able to understand it. Maybe it is just a bad habit that has gone on for 27 years, wow which is a really long time when I think about it and actually add up the years.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    charlieandcarol wrote: »
    Thanks I think it was Brain over Binge. Its funny how I read that but it was actually an obscure article about gambling addiction that got me really thinking. I am the sort of person who has everything under control except my weight and I have never been able to understand it. Maybe it is just a bad habit that has gone on for 27 years, wow which is a really long time when I think about it and actually add up the years.

    I do feel like I'm making great strides in unlearning this habit. In my case, I had to learn to slow down the weight loss process because when I lost it too quickly I had a greater tendency to binge. Something else that works for me is to have a smaller eating window (8hours typically). I have read that bingers have bigger stomachs than other people their size/weight. I like to think the smaller window helps me feel full/satisfied. However you approach it, good luck to you.

  • charlieandcarol
    charlieandcarol Posts: 302 Member
    Thanks goldthistime, I might think about starting an eating window. My usual patten is to eat well/normally until about 3 or 4 pm after which I start eating big quantities of poor nutrition food, deluding myself that I will start again tomorrow.

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