What’s the worst thing about binge-eating? Here are my top 3
Those of us who have suffered or are still struggling with binge-eating know in our bones how awful this illness can be. I’ve identified the 3 worst things about it.
Being out of control
Losing trust in yourself
Feeling trapped
Being out of control
Some folks to don’t understand this. Those who have never experienced the toll of binge-eating will say its just that you ‘feel’ out of control. They say you’re really not.
But the reality for many is that we truly are out of control once we start the binge-eating cycle. No matter what the trigger (and there are many), the truth is that after we take that first compulsive bite, many of us are goners. We become unable to stop until our stomachs are so full that our bodies cannot take anything else in. We have no choice here.
Losing trust in yourself
I debated whether or not to make losing trust in yourself as the worst thing about binge-eating. But lack of self-trust develops over time. We promise ourselves we won’t do it again. And again. We set up routines and rules to avoid binge-eating. But inevitably we break this promise. We are often unaware of how or why the binge starts. Just that it does start.
This takes a huge toll on our psyches. On our self-worth. On our ability to trust ourselves. How many promises to yourself can you break before losing trust? Before losing self-respect?
Our word then means nothing. Our integrity goes down the toilet. Whatever self-respect we have in other areas is severely diminished by our failure to do what seems so simple on the surface.
Feeling trapped
Like others caught in an addictive pattern we repeat over the years, we often feel stuck. Trapped in the on-again off-again cycle of binge-eating. We don’t know how we got here, and we don’t know how to get out. This is not for lack of trying.
Many of us have tried all sorts of diets, tips and tricks – now so omnipresent on social media and the internet. Some of these work in the short-term. But binge-eating is persistent. Always lurking. And sooner or later these efforts stop working, for many different reasons.
Binge-eating feels like a cage you can’t get out of.
Except, it IS possible. All of this is learned behaviour. So it can be unlearned. It can be replaced with new behavior. Sounds easy. It is not. That’s why people need help.