I’ve written before about eating disorders, I will write today and I will write in the future. Even if we realize it or not eating disorders are one of the most torturing diseases out there and the percentage of girls and boys suffering from them is growing everyday. While my main focus so far were bulimia and anorexia, today I will write about binge eating. It is the most common disorder even if most of us that have it do not admit it being a problem.
Binge eating is not the case when you ate a little more of your grandma’s apple pie; not the case when you overeat during the holidays! Binge eaters tend to eat massive amounts of food, quickly on a common basis. They don’t stop when they feel full. They also tend to eat many foods in bizarre combination!
Most often than not weight and wrong eating patterns are a symptom of a problem that has nothing to do with the food itself. Sometimes we get lost in our inability to find effective ways of coping with our stressful life and emotional setbacks. Do you already get it where I am going? Yea, right! I am talking to you! I am talking about emotional eating! Do you remember the last time you felt overwhelmed? The last time that reality was way too much to bear? Do you remember avoiding the hurt by eating huge amounts of food? Do you remember drowning those feelings in junk food? Don’t look aside! I know you recognized yourself! Till when are you going to run away from your problems? When are you gonna face them and leave them behind?
Didn’t you realize that by filling the emotional emptiness with food is only digging you deeper? You are burring yourself alive!
I know that emptiness can be both a physical sensation and an emotion. I know that it’s difficult to describe something when it’s absent. I know that when the emotions start knocking in your head, you loose control. You want that noise reminding you of your failures, your loneliness, your perfectionism to go away. You want to kick them out of your head! You don’t care how they will be gone, as long as they are not there! Thus, you do the easiest things- reach out for food! But look at me and listen! That is not the answer to your problems!
When you feel this emptiness, these negative feelings overtaking you…just wait. Let them roll around and settle in your mind, heart or body! Face it! What scares you about it? Why do you feel so weak? Answer these question and you will find the strength to fight it! When you binge ask yourself “Why am I doing it?”; “What am I trying to avoid?” I know that when the devil in your head is pushing you to compulsive overeating it is hard to think reasonable- but give it a try. You will fail the first time, the second time, but finally the fear you are hiding will understand that you are not a doll. It can’t break you down!
When you feel these emotions creeping in your mind, stay away from food. Just go outside for a walk. It is just a matter of taking your mind somewhere else, where it will feel comfort. Call a friend that knows about your problem- just talk over it, and the troubles will fall from your shoulders. Find another outlet. Find something you enjoy doing- maybe painting? Reading? Or something else! Just find what it is and do it when you feel the urge.
I know it is a long road to travel. But do not give in to emotional setbacks. Instead- WELCOME THEM! Welcome them as an opportunity to fill the emptiness with the best that your life has to offer!
