Binge Eating Disorder is a serious but treatable mental health condition.
It involves recurring episodes of eating large amounts of food in a short period while feeling out of control. These episodes are often accompanied and or preceded, by intense feelings of shame, guilt, distress, or any other difficult emotion we humans experience.
Binge eating isn't just eating a little more than usual during a holiday or eating dessert when you're already full. It's characterized by specific patterns, such as:
Quantity of Food: Consuming an objectively large amount of food in a short time frame (for example, what most people would consider more than "normal" to eat in those circumstances).
Feeling Out of Control: Experiencing a sense of being unable to stop eating or control what or how much you're eating.
Emotional Distress: Feelings of shame, guilt, or self-criticism often follow an episode.
Eating Alone: Many people with BED eat in secrecy due to embarrassment.
No Compensatory Behaviors: Unlike bulimia nervosa, binge eating is not followed by purging, excessive exercise, or fasting.
It’s important to emphasize that BED is not about lack of willpower or discipline—it’s a complex interplay of biology, psychology, and societal factors.
What Binge Eating Disorder Is NOT
Now, let’s clear up some misconceptions:
BED is not simply overeating. Overeating happens to everyone at times—think about Thanksgiving or a celebratory meal. BED, on the other hand, involves compulsive, repetitive episodes of eating that feel unmanageable and emotionally distressing.
BED is not a diet failure. Often, people with BED have a history of chronic dieting, which can actually contribute to the disorder. Dieting creates a cycle of restriction, deprivation, and eventual overcompensation.
BED does not discriminate. This disorder affects individuals of all ages, genders, races, and body sizes.
BED is not about vanity or a lack of self-control. It’s deeply rooted in emotional, psychological, and physiological factors, and a biological drive to survive after periods of restriction.
When someone who struggles with BED seeks treatment, they often feel very anxious & are dripping in shame. The burden of shame is sometimes so intense that they have put off getting help. They would prefer to disclose almost any other private information instead of this because they fear the judgment that is pervasive in our culture. Since they do not understand why they can’t “make it stop”, it can feel like there is not a path forward for healing. Once again, if this was about willpower or being disciplined, then they would not be struggling. In many aspects of their lives, those core values & attributes are evident in their lives. Engaging with food in this way can feel overwhelming, frustrating, terrifying, and debilitating.
Treating this eating disorder follows a very similar path as treating all other eating disorders.
We want to help them heal their relationship with food because it is often a love-hate relationship at best. Healing the relationship with food takes time & work, and that will likely happen with a multidisciplinary team consisting of an eating disorder therapist & an eating disorder dietitian. A few key elements will be addressed in both arenas:
Body Attunement & Body Trust
Learning how to listen to one's body cues and honor them, is critical to healing one's relationship with food. Our culture tends to have a misguided belief that we cannot and should not trust our bodies. This is primarily rooted in diet or wellness culture which is not infused with comprehensive data that is devoid of weight bias. We have adopted a belief that if we don’t overcontrol food, we will have awful health & gain weight ongoingly. However, science shares a different perspective that learning to honor our body’s internal wisdom will lead to weight stability over our lifespans. It also shows that bodies of all shapes & sizes can have positive health metrics.
Emotional Awareness
A binge episode will begin with a biological trigger such as undereating or restricted eating, or by an emotional trigger. A therapist will assist their client in looking for triggers that activate uncomfortable sensations or emotions or emotions themselves that are too overwhelming for the client’s nervous system. They will then work on understanding how emotions work & find tools to help reduce emotional distress. When emotions are more easily recognized & regulated in more effective ways, the relationship with food will shift more easily or fully resolve.
Decreasing shame
Shame is the emotion that tries to convince us that parts of who we are or what we have done will render us unworthy or undeserving of good things or that others will reject or think less of us if they knew ___________(fill in the blank). It is the emotion that we all try hard to avoid because it makes us feel vulnerable & exposed. And those people who experience binging eating episodes feel intense levels of shame. During the course of treatment, we will focus on challenging shame and replacing it with curiosity, self-compassion, and connection. If we assume that binging (or any other thing a human may struggle with) “shouldn’t happen” or is “our fault” then we will likely stay stuck in our patterns because we are trying to shame or judge our way out of the behavior. And while this may result in a temporary fix, it never leads to long-term solutions or good mental health.
Self Trust
Oftentimes individuals who are struggling with BED have lost a sense of self trust over time, because of how our culture approaches body shape/size & has many false assumptions that have been placed on them. When we are in a place of fear, shame & self-judgement our sense of self can often diminish over time. When people re-establish a way to understand and support themselves more, their self-trust improves. When they learn to honor their body's needs, body trust & self-trust grow even stronger.
Start Eating Disorder Treatment in Provo, UT
Binge eating disorder can feel overwhelming & complicated. Please don’t go it alone, you deserve help. Working with an eating disorder specialist who understands your fears & challenges can help you feel less alone. You can get help, and you can heal. Our team is happy to serve clients who are living in Utah through virtual therapy services. Start your therapy journey with Inside Wellness by following these simple steps:
Reach out or give us a call at 801-699-6161.
Meet with an eating disorder therapist
Start developing more trust in yourself, and cultivate a healthier relationship with food!
Other Services Offered with Inside Wellness
Eating Disorder Treatment isn’t the only service that is offered by Inside Wellness. Our team is happy to offer support with other forms of mental health support including anxiety treatment and body image therapy. Learn more about the support in person or online therapy can offer today by visiting our blog or FAQ today.