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What is Binge Eating Disorder?
by Kristin Gerstley
Binge Eating Disorder is a disorder in which people use food to satisfy a variety of emotions in order to cope with them. People may binge when they experience any negative emotion, such as anger, sadness, or depression. Another reason a person may binge is shear boredom. People have used food as a coping mechanism for so long that now that it is a habit to turn and use food to make them feel better. People do not know how to deal with their “life” anymore without food. Binge Eating Disorder is the most common of all eating disorders. It affects about 25 million people.
When a person binges, they usually experience some, if not all, of the following: eating an usually large amount of food, feeling a loss of control while eating, consuming food more quickly than the average person, eating large amounts of food even when they do not feel hungry, feeling better eating alone because the amount of food is typically large, and feelings of guilt, disgust, and even becoming ashamed of themselves after a binge occurs.
The cause of Binge Eating Disorder is unknown. Depression and other emotional problems are prevalent in binge eaters. Many researchers think that there is a connection between people who diet and binge eat. When people diet, they deprive themselves of certain foods which causes them to want it more. When they do give in, they usually eat too much of this food and it most likely turns into a binge. Then the negative feelings set in and they make a promise that they aren’t going to eat bad anymore. This usually results in starting the cycle all over again and this is known as yo-yo dieting.
There are many consequences to bingeing. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are just a few complications that can arise when people binge. Many people can become sick from a binge because the foods that they chose to binge on as not full of vitamins and nutrients. The foods are fuller of sugar and fat and this, obviously, is very unhealthy.
Treatment for Binge Eating Disorder has the highest recovery rate of any disorder. People usually meet with a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. The health professional will ask questions about the person’s past to figure out when they started comforting themselves with food. They will get to the root of the problem and why is started and will give advice as to how the person should deal with those feelings when they happen. If this does not work, some medications may be added to treat the binge eating.
Changing the habit of turning to food is the key point in getting started. Changing all of the old habits will put you one foot closer to stop binge eating and to start getting on with your life.
Binge Eating - Men Also At Risk
by Kristin Gerstley
Binge Eating Disorder affects just about as many men as it does women, even though the stereotype is that eating disorders are thought to be a women’s disorder. This stereotype is incorrect. There are 25 million people that struggle daily with Binge Eating Disorder. Out of that 25 million, you may be surprised to know that 40% are men. According to Wikipedia.com, this means that three women for every two men suffer from Binge Eating Disorder.
There are different reasons as to why men develop Binge Eating Disorder. One cause is if they play or played sports sometime in their life that required them to be thin or to lose a lot of weight for a particular competition, such as a wrestling match or running. Football players and body builders are still at risk, but it is lower since these sports require some meat and muscles in order to be successful. Another reason is that the chosen profession calls for thinness, such as modeling and acting. Men feel a pressure, just as women do, to maintain a level of thinness when they are in the public eye and when they are in looked at.
A man is more at risk for developing Binge Eating Disorder at a older age than a woman does, especially if the man had a tendency to be overweight at a child. This is because growing up a man believes that he needs to be strong and be able to protect not only himself, but also a female. If he is thin, this translates to fragile and he will see himself as not being powerful and not being able to get the things that he wants in life because he is considered weak.
Treatment for men is the same as women; although, men are more reluctant to visit a professional since eating disorders are considered to be female difficulties. The professional will go into detail to find out why the man comforts himself with food. Once the reason why he binges comes to the surface, the professional can give him ideas of how to change his behaviors. Once this happens and once the man feels comfortable with the professional, then the journey to recovery begins.
Clearly binge eating disorder is not only a female disorder, as many males are affected too. Regardless of being male or female, it is important to admit that your relationship with food is not healthy and to seek help on how to make it healthy once again.
By: Kristin Gerstley
http://www.endbingeeating.com
Kristin Gerstley is a former binge eater that now has a healthy relationship with food. She is also the owner of http://www.endbingeeating.com which is a site that helps people overcome Binge Eating Disorder. She publishes a free newsletter offering tips on how to stop binge eating and regain control of your life.
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Article Source: ArticlesOn.com
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