Do You Binge?

Are you feeling caught in a cycle of bingeing and guilt?

Many people experience a pattern of eating in excess, followed by feelings of intense frustration or shame.

This cycle can perpetuate negative behaviours because the guilt often leads to more restrictive dieting or emotional distress, which might trigger further binge eating.

The first step towards breaking free is understanding what drives this behaviour.

Recognising the internal struggle with binge eating is key. Part of you might desperately want to stop, yet another part feels compelled to continue.

Binge eating isn’t always about consuming large amounts of food—it’s often driven by a sense of urgency, a need to eat quickly, with an almost overwhelming intensity.

In contrast, emotional eatingtends to be more relaxed; for example, you might find yourself enjoying a massive bag of Minstrels while watching a film.

Let’s explore what you can do to prevent binge eating and how to handle it afterwards.

Usually binge eating is just the tip of the iceberg. Often, there are many emotions and experiences beneath the surface that lead to these behaviours.

Understanding these underlying factors is crucial in taking meaningful steps toward healing.

Understanding the Urgency

Binge eating most often stems from a place of self-compassion, a misguided attempt to care for yourself when you feel neglected or uncared for.

Feelings such as loneliness, disappointment, or sadness can drive you to binge eat.

You may feel that no one understands your struggles, or it could be related to past experiences. This urgent act of eating feels necessary as if you need to do it now.

Sometimes, you might plan for it, knowing you’ll engage in binge eating later that evening and might pick up supplies on your drive home.

Importantly, binge eating isn’t solely defined by the amount of food consumed. For instance, you might overeat at a social buffet, but that doesn’t necessarily qualify as binge eating; it’s simply overeating.

What distinguishes binge eating is the urgency and desire to escape into a state where you can focus on yourself and your needs.

Seeking Relief

What often drives binge eating is a desire to pause life, escape, and plunge into a little sense of oblivion.

It can help to ask yourself: What do I want to escape from? Perhaps you wish to take a break from the responsibilities that weigh you down.

Sometimes, you just want the world to take care of itself for a while so that you can rest. Binge eating often becomes a way to find that escape.

In next week's blog, we’ll delve deeper into how to navigate these feelings and provide some strategies for addressing binge eating, but in the meantime think about what sits below the water of the iceberg for you, what’s causing you to binge eat, and if you’re ready to make a change in this area.

If you resonate with this blog you might want to check out our Healthy, Whole & Free Course where we dig deeper into these types of behaviours and step out in freedom!