People with binge eating disorder (also known as compulsive overeating or food addiction) not only consume large amounts of food but are obsessed with food and food related thoughts, often thinking about what they are going to eat next while they are in the midst of a binge and going through elaborate planning and extreme lengths to get the foods they think are going to satisfy their strong cravings.

Binge eating disorder is a condition that probably affects millions here in the United States and around the world. People with binge eating disorder often consume large amounts of food while feeling a real loss of control over their eating.1 This disorder differs from binge-purge
syndrome (bulimia nervosa) since people with binge eating disorder usually do not purge afterward by vomiting or using laxatives.

This is why it is so important that when people use affirmations to end their battle with binge eating disorder they are careful of what they say and think. By filling your subconscious mind with negative statements about yourself, you will get what you don’t want, even though that is not your intention. The subconscious mind accepts any and all information because it does not know any better. This is also why affirmations work so well: Your subconscious cannot distinguish what is real and what is not real.

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.

What causes binge eating disorder?

No one knows for sure what causes binge eating disorder. As many as half of all people with binge eating disorder are depressed or have been depressed in the past. Whether depression causes binge eating disorder or whether binge eating disorder causes depression is not known.

Symptoms of Binge Eating

Frequent episodes of eating abnormally large amounts of food.

Significantly impaired control over how what and how much is being eaten.

Eating large amounts of food even when not physically hungry.

Eating normally around others, but gorging when you’re alone

Eating continuously throughout the day, with no planned mealtimes.

Binge eating is a pattern of disordered eating which consists of episodes of uncontrollable overeating. It is sometimes as a symptom of binge eating disorder. During such binges, a person rapidly consumes an excessive amount of food. Most people who have eating binges try to hide this behaviour from others, and often feel ashamed or depressed about their overeating.

Several methods are being used to treat binge eating disorder. Drug therapy, such as antidepressants, may be helpful for some people. Cognitive-behavioral therapy teaches patients techniques to monitor and change their eating habits as well as to change the way they respond to difficult situations. Interpersonal psychotherapy helps people examine their relationships with friends and family and to make changes in problem areas.