Treatment Options For Binge Eating Disorder
Eating disorders can be defined as serious mental health conditions that can affect your overall health and well-being in various ways. People with eating disorders might have an unhealthy relationship with food, or an unrealistic and damaging view of themselves. Many who find themselves surviving an eating disorder, such as binge eating disorder, might benefit from treatments such as online therapy, or other supportive strategies as they work to begin their healing journey.
Read on to learn more about binge eating disorders and the most common treatments.
What Are Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders can be defined by many as an irregular pattern of dietary habits (such as overconsumption or underconsumption) that may or may not be influenced by one’s mental state. While eating disorders (ED’s) can be fueled by negative body image or self-perception, the thoughts do not have to be present for someone’s experience to be designated a “true” eating disorder.
Additionally, researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health have clarified that there’s a common misconception that eating disorders are a lifestyle choice. In reality, eating disorders are serious illnesses that can cause or worsen many medical problems—and might be fatal if left unaddressed.
Understanding the types of eating disorders can be a helpful first step for many in seeking treatment.
There are many different types of eating disorders. Below, we’ve summarized the most common:
If you are experiencing an ED that doesn’t match the descriptions above, your experience is valid. Seeking therapy and other supportive strategies may help you to experience a higher quality of life.
What Is Binge Eating Disorder (BED)?
According to researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, BED is an illness involving the intake of a lot of food in a short time. A person with binge eating disorder may feel out of control about how much food they consume on a day-to-day basis, or in specific situations such as at a buffet or party.
“Binge-eating disorder is a condition where people lose control over their eating and have reoccurring episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food. Binge-eating disorder is quantitatively considered to be the most common eating disorder in the U.S”. — National Institute of Mental Health
BED Signs And Symptoms
It is important to note that anyone, regardless of age, sex, race, gender or sexual orientation, can experience eating disorders. While many people with BED might believe that they are overweight or obese, some may not be.
Common symptoms of binge eating disorder for many can include:
Eating a considerable amount of food in a set time period—such as one or two hours
Hiding your food intake or eating in secret to avoid embarrassment
Continuing to eat, even when you’re not hungry or already full
Frequently trying new diets, even without experiencing weight loss
Eating until your stomach is uncomfortably full
Feeling ashamed, guilty, or distressed about your eating habits
What Causes BED?
While there isn’t generally a singular reason that’s attributed to the cause of BED, medical and mental health experts have assembled a list of potential causes that may trigger binge eating. Biological factors, such as physical differences in your brain, gender, genetics and body type or shape; environmental factors like personal experiences, learned eating habits or emotional trauma, and mental factors like body image could all influence whether a person develops BED or other eating disorders.
Possible severe binge eating disorder risk factors that have been identified by Cleveland Clinic can include:
Childhood obesity
Loss of control eating during childhood
Physical or sexual abuse
Perfectionistic tendencies
Parental psychopathology
Mu-opioid and dopamine receptor gene involvement
Changes to intestinal microbiology
Problems with conduct
Alcohol or substance use
Family concerns about weight and eating habits
Conflicts with family or issues with parenting
Distorted body image
Exploring Binge Eating Disorder Treatments
As with many mental health conditions, some of the most effective treatments for treating binge eating disorder often involve psychotherapy, also called talk therapy. We’ve summarized other supportive strategies for binge eating disorder below:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Generally, CBT might focus on the connection between how you think and the way you feel—possibly forming connections by examining past experiences and their effects on your thoughts or behaviors. Many patients receiving cognitive behavioral therapy can work with their therapists to identify and replace harmful thinking and actions with healthier habits, especially during binge eating episodes.
Popular BED treatment topics that may be involved with CBT treatment can include:
The process of adopting regular eating habits by planning meals and snacks ahead of time
Identifying binge eating triggers
Reshaping negative feelings about your body
Maintaining new eating habits to avoid relapsing
Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Patients receiving interpersonal psychotherapy might choose to focus on their relationships with other people with the goal of improving the interpersonal skills they use to relate to friends, family and coworkers. If you find that binge eating is triggered by problematic social connections or unhealthy communication, this type of therapy may help you to manage your BED symptoms and reduce binge eating to gain control over your eating by addressing possible underlying issues.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Some people with binge eating disorders might benefit from dialectical behavior therapy, which can teach behavioral skills that can help you control your emotions effectively, improve your ability to form and maintain healthy relationships and increase your stress tolerance—all of which can help you to reduce the desire to binge eat.
Behavioral Weight Loss Therapy
While dieting and weight loss programs might not be recommended for patients with binge eating disorders, behavioral weight loss therapy can offer professional support and guidance as you work to overcome your binge eating disorder. Many studies have shown that a combination of CBT and behavioral weight loss therapy can effectively help overcome BED symptoms and develop healthy eating and exercise habits.
Medications
Some people may benefit from medication in addition to other treatments. You can talk to your doctor or mental healthcare provider if you think medication may be a helpful addition to your treatment plan.
Guided Self-Help
Therapists are generally regarded as specialists who can talk to you about your relationship with food and may help to diagnose a binge eating disorder while providing supportive treatment for eating disorders. While working with a licensed therapist can deliver more significant results, you may find success by using a self-help program or guided self-help strategies to get control of your eating habits and reduce the urge to binge eat. We’ve summarized a few options for you to check out below.
Health At Every Size(HAES) is a movement that generally focuses on working toward healthy habits for your body—regardless of size—with an emphasis on movement, awareness of your food intake and flexible eating habits.
Support groups can offer the support of mental health professionals and other people going through similar experiences. It can also be helpful to know that you're not alone and that others understand what you're going through without an explanation.
Intuitive eating can be a helpful part of your comprehensive self-care plan, and can help you make peace with food and develop a healthier relationship with what you eat. Using self-care to frame the shift in your eating habits can make reinforcing that the changes are for your health easier.
Nutrition Counseling
Working with a licensed dietician can help you reshape how you look at food and can guide you toward developing a healthy relationship with what you eat. A registered dietician or nutritionist can help you learn how to eat healthily for your current weight management goals as well.
Supportive Strategies: Additional Ways To Overcome BED
Keep a journal to track your food-related moods so you can identify personal triggers
Practice active thought redirection to help to reshape your thought patterns around food
Avoid unsupervised and unsupported dieting
Follow your treatment plan
Eat breakfast to help avoid binging later in the day, which can possibly be triggered by hunger
Stay connected with your social network to avoid isolation
Find ways to make being active fun
How Therapy Can Help Manage BED Symptoms
A qualified online therapist or counseling service can help you learn practical coping skills to manage your stress and control BED symptoms, communication skills to express your feelings and needs to others and identify unhealthy thoughts and behaviors so you can work to change them. They can do this in a more convenient way for individuals than traditional in-person methods may allow for, which can positively impact treatment outcomes in some. It can be easier to virtually connect and establish a vulnerable patient-therapist relationship without the stress and unfamiliarity of a new location.
Is Online Therapy Effective?
Recent studies show that online CBT is a viable treatment option for eating disorders, generally offering similar results to treatment in the traditional face-to-face setting.
The linked study published in Eating and Weight Disorders—Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity found that positive treatment outcomes associated with online therapy were sustained in a long-term context, further suggesting that online therapy is a comparable method to traditional in-person treatment options.
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