What You Need To Know About Binge Eating Disorder

Binge Eating Disorder

At one point or another in our lives, we tend to ingest more food than we need. This may not be considered a problem but when one becomes unable to control excessive eating, it is develops into a condition known as Binge eating disorder. This is one of the most common eating disorders and it may manifest itself as a standalone disorder or be a symptom of another condition.

Most of the symptoms of this eating disorder begin in adolescence and early adulthood and it often begins as a way that suffers use to find comfort through food.  The comfort may last for a while but it thereafter turns into regret and loath. The physical effects of excessive eating are normally apparent with most sufferers gaining weight rapidly. Obesity compounds the problem because it leads to self hate that propagates the eating disorder even further.

Bingeing

Symptoms

If you find that you are unable to control the amount of food that you ingest this is the first sign that you may be suffering from binge eating disorder. An average person may consumer between 1300 and 3000 calories as opposed to a binge eater who may chow down up to 15000 calories in one seating.  This condition often occurs in episodes and if

So what are the risks?

There are several risk factors associated with binge eating and top on the list is the probability of developing medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, some forms of Cancer and heart disease.  It is also possible for sufferers to have severe cravings that may be characterized by intense headaches.

Another major issue that Binge eaters have to deal with is their Psychological wellbeing. Emotions such as despair, low self esteem, anxiety and self loath play on psyche of sufferers and it takes a lot of psychological and psychiatric treatment to deal with.

Binge Eating

Can it be treated?

It is highly recommended that people with any eating disorder seek treatment. Some of the treatment regimes include:

  • Psychological therapy- during this process, patients go through various counseling stages that are aimed at reducing cognitive imbalances thus creating the mental stability needed to maintain an acceptable mental state.
  • Behavioral therapy – this is a series of therapeutic procedures that are aimed at changing a person’s response to specific stimulus thus altering bad habits.
  • Support groups – these help sufferers seek solace through mutual interactions