Psychotherapy For Binge Eating: What Does It Consist Of?
High-calorie foods are those that are designed, as the name itself indicates, with a multitude of fats and carbohydrates. The objective is to create a kind of “addiction” in the consumer that leads them to compulsively buy these types of products.
This eating panorama has caused in recent years a considerable increase in so-called “binge eating”, a fairly common disorder today. This type of problem causes the person to eat food (preferably high in calories) as an escape valve for rumination, problems and/or anxiety.
Of course, what appears to be a relief ends up, over time, becoming a new problem. The rise of this type of disorder and the damage it can cause to the affected person has led to the emergence of a series of psychotherapeutic strategies that help deal with binge eating.
What are binge eating and why are they so harmful?
As we have already mentioned, binge eating is the uncontrolled intake of usually high-calorie foods. Behind these binges there is no hunger or, rather, not the type of biological and functional hunger that we need to survive, but the so-called “emotional hunger”.
And what is “emotional hunger”? It is confused with biological hunger, but in reality its basis is in emotions. We feel emotional hunger when we notice a certain discomfort that we do not know how to alleviate, so we attribute it to a lack of food. In reality, this discomfort is caused by incorrect management of emotions.
One of the main characteristics that allows us to distinguish food intake due to biological necessity from something that is the result of anxiety is the time used to eat. Generally, when the intake occurs in a short time we would be talking about emotional hunger. So, The person enters a vicious circle where they do not recognize the psychic origin of the discomfort they feel which leads you to visit the refrigerator again and again to end the discomfort.
A serious case: Binge Eating Disorder
If compulsive eating reaches an extreme case, we would be talking about Binge Eating Disorder.
What does this psychopathology consist of? As we have already mentioned, it is emotional hunger taken to the extreme, in which the affected person feels an uncontrollable desire to consume food, even when his or her body is nutritionally satiated. The consequences, in addition to physical ones (health and malnutrition problems), include the inability to get off the wheel, which generates even more emotional discomfort in the person. In these cases, it is essential to go to therapy.
Some of the symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder are:
It is important to highlight that, Unlike bulimia, it is not common for the person affected by Binge Eating Disorder to perform “compensatory” behaviors after the compulsive act. Both are Eating Disorders (ED) but, in the case of bulimia, the affected person usually induces vomiting or exercises after eating food, with the aim of eliminating the calories consumed. Therefore, Binge Eating Disorder is more linked to overweight and obesity.
We have already discussed how binge eating is generated by poor management of emotions. This mismanagement involves the internalization of certain highly harmful behavior patterns that, fortunately, can be reworked in therapy.
1. Learn to identify emotions
So that the affected person can distinguish what is real hunger from what is the result of their emotional swings, it is important that the therapist gives them tools to understand their emotions.
A method that has been shown to be very effective when it comes to distinguishing and recognizing emotions is write down how we feel in a journal ; of course, under the supervision of the therapist.
2. Improved self-esteem
Binge eating is often accompanied by weight gain which, in a world of very strict beauty standards, can harm the self-esteem of the person affected. Therefore, it is essential that in therapy the patient is taught, first, to detect ideas about himself that are not functional and, second, to replace them with more beneficial ones. The objective of cognitive restructuring is for the patient to learn to value and respect themselves and not engage in self-punishment behaviors.
3. Time management
Correct time management is crucial, since many people who suffer from binge eating eat food at times when the amount of pending tasks overwhelms them. In other words, these people try to alleviate with food the uncertainty caused by “not knowing where to start.”
The therapist will give the patient tools to correctly plan their daily lives. This organization will prevent the person from getting bogged down in doubts and indecisions that can lead to uncontrolled eating.
Relaxation techniques have proven to be highly effective in treating problems related to stress and anxiety. These types of activities help the patient deal with moments of “crisis” since they replace binge eating and allow the patient’s emotional state to return to normal.
