The Psychology of Binge Eating

Did you know that binge eating can be a disorder? Yes, there is something called Binge Eating Disorder and it’s even included in the DSM-5 which is the official “mental health diagnosis” handbook created by the American Psychiatric Association.

I already knew how binge eating can lead to weight problems and stress but especially after the spread of COVID-19, it became clear to me that this is a toxic coping tool for many people. During COVID-19 lockdowns, as I continued helping with hypnotherapy sessions, I started to hear one popular problem over and over again: Weight gain due to binge eating.

According to National Eating Disorders Association, binge eating is the most common eating disorder in America. This usually happens when someone finds himself eating uncontrollably to the point where he is uncomfortably full. Usually, the behavior is followed by an upset feeling, guilt, or shame.

What Causes Binge Eating?

There is no definitive cause of binge eating, however, it’s estimated that certain genetics, biological factors, dieting, or psychological factors can increase the risk (Mayo Clinic). With that being said, I’ve been observing that there are some common triggers for binge eating.

• Being overweight For someone who has been overweight for a while, it’s easy to give up on yourself and continue the “eating junk” streak. Being overweight is usually the result of being out of touch with your body. Therefore, it may be hard to tune in with your body’s fullness or satisfied signals.

• Chronic stress When stress becomes part of your life and you are not effectively releasing tensions, stress gets pressured into the mind and the body. Binge eating becomes sort of an escape or a distraction from the stressors and tensions. After all, how can you pay attention to your emotions or your mind when you are eating uncontrollably and gaining weight, right?

• Emotional trauma Emotional trauma causes similar effects to chronic stress, but on a more intense level. Following the trauma, powerful negative emotions surface themselves. These emotions are usually hard to deal with, sometimes people even find themselves in denial. Binge eating acts as a distraction or a way of escape.

• Think of binge eating like an addiction. Whether it’s drug abuse, sugar addiction, or smoking, addictions stimulate the dopamine receptors of the brain. Dopamine neurotransmitter helps to interpret pleasure. Therefore, these addictions give a false and temporary feeling of satisfaction. So does binge eating. According to Metabolism Research in Germany, food stimulates dopamine in two ways: when the food is first ingested and when the food reaches the stomach.

  Our brain always looks for pleasure and avoids the pain. It’s easy to get used to this dopamine comfort with food when your life is filled with stress, tensions, or traumatic events.

Food can be as addictive as narcotics.

What Can You Do to Stop Binge Eating?

Although binge eating may make you feel totally out of control, establishing healthy eating habits is not as hard as it may seem. Here are a few steps you can take today to shift the direction: 

Try Intuitive Eating

Intuitive eating is a new-age eating style that directs you to tune into your body. The basic principle of intuitive eating is listening and understanding your body, and your body’s hunger signals. You only eat when hungry and stop when you are full. Sounds easy, right? Not so fast!

During intuitive eating, you learn to distinguish physical hunger from emotional hunger -which is the most challenging part for many people-. In the past, you may have been stuck with binge eating because of emotional needs. When you can distinguish the two, you can tune into your body easier and redirect your attention away from binging. You can read more about intuitive eating from National Eating Disorders Association.

Don’t Give Up on Yourself

Changing a habit is one of the harder things for someone to do by themselves. You may find that some days, you have great control over your eating and choices while some other days you may feel totally out of control. Just know that that cycle is totally okay! 

As humans, we experience different emotions, different stressors every single day. As a result, some days it’s harder to manage the cravings than other days. What matters is staying on track in the long term.

Some days you may make wrong choices but as long as you continue your healthy habits the next day, you will be just fine. Remember, no one is perfect and even the healthiest people have cheat days every once in a while. You can make wrong choices at times. But don’t give up on your dreams and goals because of one backward step.

Just Breathe

Breathing is one of the most successful tools to control emotions or behaviors. Usually, during the day, most of our actions are automated behaviors based on muscle memory. Although we may be performing a very complex task -such as driving a car-, our minds can run a million miles. During these times we are usually thinking about the past or the future. It’s easier to make wrong decisions or eat uncontrollably when your mind is not even there.

Breathing brings you back to the present and helps you make conscious choices. There are many different types of breathing techniques. My favorite one is 4/8 breath in which the exhale is two times longer than the inhale, preferably 4 counts inhale and 8 counts exhale. This type of breathing will slow down the daily rhythm and help you be aware of your actions and their consequences.

Breathing is a simple tool that activates the parasympathetic nervous system which is the opposite of anxiety and panic. Remember, many people binge eat because of stress and tensions. Regular breathing can also help with the release of stressors which can dissipate the need to eat excessively as well.

Try Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic tool that involves hypnosis. It’s a very powerful subconscious therapy that can actually help change your actions. All of our decisions are made subconsciously a few seconds before we consciously recognize them. There is usually complex reasoning behind your actions. Yes, there is a subconscious reason why you are binge eating!

Whether it is to distract you from big emotions, help you release stress, or keep your hands busy, your subconscious belief about binge eating may be positive. During hypnotherapy, the hypnotherapist can help you change this toxic belief.  

Moreover, hypnotherapy can also help with increasing your motivation to be healthy, lose weight, or make the right choices. The whole process can take as short as 1 session or depending on the cause and the problem, it may take a bit longer.

Consider Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a form of psychotherapy that can help with coping with negative emotions which may trigger binge eating. During CBT, reframing skills are improved and it can help with having a better sense of control. CBT can also help with depressive emotions or negative self-image that may fuel binge eating as well.