Labeling yourself as “Binge Eating Disorder,” “Overeating Disorder,” or “Food Addiction”

Almost every self-help book or article I’ve read on binge eating disorder or food addiction has a section to help the reader decide if they really do have binge eating disorder, binge eating disorder, or are a “addicted to food”.

There is often a checklist with questions like “Are you eating more than you meant to more than 3 times a week?” Or “Do you hide how much you eat?”

These books or articles are often written by someone who has no personal experience with binge eating or by people who believe in addictive diseases. By asking questions like this, in your opinion, they are preparing you to conclude that you have a problem.

In my opinion, I prefer to take the opposite angle: If you’re not sure you have an eating problem, you probably don’t. If you have a problem or struggle with it, you are aware of it.

I am not going to publish information or spend time in my books or programs teaching you what binge eating, compulsive overeating, or food addiction are. It is different for everyone. If you feel you have a problem, you are well aware that you need to seek support for it. It would be arrogant of me to label you as having a problem if you firmly believe that you don’t.

However, if you’re reading this and suspect that you have a problem with regularly overeating, then chances are you have a problem to address.

I’m assuming your assumption is based on your experience with overeating on a fairly regular basis, or often thinking that you know you’re going to “sink” and feel like you can’t stop eating.

You’re probably engaged in an internal debate about what to do: eat less at certain times, try to find a diet with foods you don’t want to overeat, eat “safe” foods just in case you overeat. , etc. This conflict or indecision fits my definition of having a “problem” with food that doesn’t make you happy.

When learning about the symptoms of binge eating disorder or compulsive eating disorder, it can be easy to take on the “disorder” label and see yourself as someone who suffers from a “disorder.”

Because?

Because assuming the concept that you have a disorder and that your binge eating is a symptom of it, a great responsibility can be taken off your shoulders.

I remember thinking this when I was dealing with anorexia, and then bulimia, and then binge eating. I saw myself as someone with a disorder that I would have to deal with for the rest of my life. It was this “thing” that was part of me and required constant management.

Taking on this idea that I had a lifelong eating “disorder” that had just changed shape, it no longer seemed like I was behaving stupidly and blindly. I no longer felt the urgent need to stop binge eating or punish myself for being weak. I was just doing what people with eating disorders do.

While it’s helpful to acknowledge if you have an eating problem, there’s one step below that will either keep you stuck or help you overcome the problem: take action. Seeing that there is something that does not make you happy, now you have a world of possibilities that can be opened because you can choose to take new actions that will lead you to be happy.

You can work on developing your ability to recognize your conflicting thoughts about wanting to eat and wanting to feel in control. Those conflicting thoughts are the result of two conflicting parts of your brain… your “primal” animal brain and your “higher” logical brain.

When you can distinguish between the two parties and understand the motivations behind each, you quickly gain influence over yourself and can overcome behavior with which you are dissatisfied.