ditto im in theripy(cbt) HAVE PTSD AND DEPRESSION AND A UNDERACIVE THYROID I FIND IT HARD WHEN I GET UPSET NOT TO REACH FOR THE SNACK CUBOURD,BUT BEING ON HERE AND FB GROUPS THERES ALLWAYS SOMEONE TO TALK TO TO GIVE ME A KICK UP THE BUM Xsorry bout caps!

I sort of binge... but it is only on chocolate, and it usually has to have some sort of crunch to it, like m&ms. i think for me it is a repetitive action that reinforces a repetitive thought. i mostly do it when I am trying to 'solve a problem', or am planning how to deal with something that might make me anxious (bahaha... i know, i know, that sentence basically sums up the root of the disorder).

Somewhere along the way, my mind decided that repeatedly attacking a thought from every angle until it is solved will minimise that amount of time that i can possibly spend being anxious about the unsolved problem. (lmao... i know, i know. bear with me). Somehow, my mind discovered that if i undertake a repetitive action, my ability to think about one thing becomes more focussed. i literally continue thinking about this one thing from every aspect, sometimes retracing that aspect, until i am down to repeating sentences or words. at this point, i am exhausted, have usually been stuck in place doing something ridiculous like picking at my legs, or eating m&ms for half an hour to an hour... sometimes hours (though thankfully i can't eat chocolate for hours).

Unfortunately, this is entirely irrational. Focussing down on a single thought is NOT going to solve the problem faster. In reality, the most efficient way for me to solve a problem is to acknowledge that i am in fact a very capable problem solver and can RELAX until a problem actually occurs, and i will deal with it on the spot.

Identifying triggers is helpful, but because we are anxious people, in general at least one of the triggers will be something we actually must do in order to survive or achieve our goals. So avoiding the trigger is not an option.

My psychologist taught me that when I am stuck in a repetitive thought cycle, it is very similar to simply saying the word 'orange orange orange' over and over again to try to understand and experience that orange. However, in reality, i can imagine how that orange tastes, the texture of the skin, the juice bursting out of the cells, the little spray of acid.... this is a much more effective way to experience the orange. When I am saying 'orange orange orange' over and over again, I am beginning to disassociate the word from the reality of the orange.

Long story short, once i identify when I am having an 'orange' thought pattern, I use a distraction technique to forcibly break that thought pattern. Since I started to be able to identify my 'orange' thoughts, I have binged on chocolate less and pick at my legs less.

.....yyyyeah, we're pretty sure it's OCD, haha. i get 'stuck' a lot. in fact i am 'stuck' on MFP right now.

This is my first post and even though I'm hesitant to actually admit my bad habits and discuss my struggle with panic & depression it is comforting to know that I'm not the only one.

I can relate in the sense that I can't just eat a small portion of something and almost always have the entire package. I used to have a high degree of self-control, but now I justify the binging as a "reward" for getting through a panic attack or long day.

The only way I control this is by keeping snack foods out of the house. So when its 2 a.m. my options are very limited and I can't binge no matter how much I want to. A less restrictive approach is buying single units of something (like 1 ice cream cone instead of a box of 6).

Hi all. This is my first post but I just wanted to say that I am there with you 100%.

I have depression and mix of generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder. I am such a binge eater and it makes it difficult when I'm try to drop some pounds. It's always after I binge, that the guilt sets in and I beat myself up about it.

I find it so hard to control because most of the time, I don't really realize how much and how many calories I just ate!

Whenever I have a panic attack, my aftermath is the strong desire to eat chocolate or some equally bad food. It gives me a temporary mood boost, so I guess that's the reason.

Oh wow, I had a major anxiety episode last night.
Long story short, I was in an unfamiliar medical environment and there were sensors all over me and I couldn't sleep even though I was meant to. So I had an anxiety attack and left. On my way home - this was 2:30am - I stopped at 7/11 and bought a tub of ice cream and a jumbo choc chip cookie, and sat in the car eating them.

My panic subsided and went away while I was eating.

I think this is kind of the key to my emotional eating. It calms me, it brings me out of my panic. But it has to be food I really like. *frown*