Eating Disorder Therapy

• Binge eating is the most common eating disorder in the United States. It is characterized by recurring episodes of eating large quantities of food, often very quickly and to the point of discomfort. This eating disorder is different from Bulimia Nervosa because with bulimia, your episodes of excessive eating are usually followed by attempts to rid your body of the food through purging, fasting, or exercising. With binge eating, however, there aren’t usually attempts to remove the food from your body, and you might be overweight or obese due to all the food consumption. At the same time, you may feel a loss of control during the binge. Individuals who binge eat experience shame, distress or guilt afterward.
  With binge eating, there can be a couple of symptoms as well as long-term effects to watch out for. Some of the symptoms can include:
  • Feeling a lack of control whenever you eat, and eating within really small time frames
  • Eating really fast, and continuing to eat even when you’re full
  • Making sure that you are alone when you’re eating so that you don’t feel embarrassed

Binge eating can lead to physical effects as well as negative feelings, which can include:

• Becoming overweight or obese
• Feelings of guilt and shame surrounding your eating habits

Please see our dedicated Binge Eating page to learn more. 

• Emotional eating happens when food is used to pacify emotional needs, rather than to satisfy physical hunger. This emotional hunger can’t be filled with food. Food may feel good in the moment, but the feelings that triggered the eating are still there. You often feel worse than you did before because of the guilt, shame, and physical lethargy caused by the unhealthy food consumed.

With emotional eating, there can be a couple of symptoms to watch out for. Some of the symptoms can include:

• A sudden and urgent need to eat
• Having cravings of very specific foods, which usually include unhealthy snacks and junk food
• Not feeling satisfied with how much you ate even if you are physically full
• Feelings of regret and shame because you know you shouldn’t be eating unhealthy food in excess
• Feeling the hunger in your head rather than your stomach

Please see our dedicated Emotional Eating page to learn more. 

Please keep in mind, only a licensed mental health professional is qualified to make these diagnoses. If you feel as though you have symptoms of any of the eating disorders mentioned above, you can set up a free consult call with our eating disorder specialists by clicking here. 

We’re ready to help set you on the road to recovery, peace, and freedom.

To learn more in depth information about each of these eating disorders such as anorexia, binge eating, bulimia, and emotional eating, visit their specific dedicated pages.