Binge Eating Disorder: Know the Signs
By Jessica Burgess
It is Tuesday night and Jocelyn has sat down after a long day of work and has just finished dinner. She feels a sudden urge to eat two pork chops, a mound of potatoes, and half a pan of the cornbread she had planned to stretch out for the next week with her family. When she is done, she goes to the store and replaces the pan of cornbread before her husband comes home and sees. She feels uncomfortably full, ashamed, and depressed. Why can’t she control her eating?
Jocelyn and many people like her, suffer from Binge Eating Disorder (BED), an eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of overeating, usually quickly until the person is overly full. It is not related to hunger and, in fact, some sufferers are not hungry when the binge begins. People with BED, unlike those with bulimia, tend to not compensate for overeating by purging and BED occurs separately from bulimia or anorexia. Episodes of Binge Eating Disorder are characterized by:
- Eating, in a certain period of time, more food than most people would eat during that time period
- And a sense of lack of control during the episode
Episodes also tend to include:
- Eating faster than normal
- Eating alone due to embarrassment
- Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or guilty after an episode
If you or someone you know is suffering from binge eating disorder, speak with one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists. Contact us at our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 respectively to set up an appointment. For more information, visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/.
Source: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/bed
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