This is a great topic and so glad it's been raised here. I have often felt concerned about individuals here who have the belief that their binging is due entirely to emotional issues or at least mainly to emotional issues. I feel that they could be setting themselves up for failure....for several reasons.
First....no matter how great the therapist or the therapy is....none of us ever gets "fixed". We go to the grave with our issues. It's a fantasy to think we can be fixed by the right treatment. We can cope better, learn more, apply better techniques...or different techniques....but it's all about making it more manageable. It never gets cured. Whatever yanks our emotional chains will continue to do so....it's just a matter of degree. We can try to change some things....but we can't fix them...ever.
This is why I'm a big believer in CBT. I'm sure you can learn some things from lying on the couch, relating your whole story.....but time-wise, IMO, it's just contemplating your navel....when it comes to actually changing anything......and even then...we never change anyway. We just learn ways to better cope with the issues we're stuck with.
So the whole premise of fixing binge eating by fixing one's issues....that fixing binge eating by figuring out just what emotional issues/problems are WHY we do it....is just a fantasy, really. And just a set-up for disappointment...if you believe that. Not to mention, it's unfair to them, I think. They are blaming themselves for something and taking on the burden of fixing it....when it can't really be simply done. They are unfairly blaming their own unique and entrenched issues for the behavior....placing the total blame on themselves.
I totally agree with kaplods (well, I always do, it seems
). There are, I believe, physiologic factors that play a huge role in the binge eating issue. In fact, at times, I believe it is almost the entire problem.
Binge eating seems to be a lot like drug addiction. You have to completely stop the behavior and have to totally eliminate the drugs to be able to control it. For many of us.....that is carbs....though I realize it's not all that simple for others....who, I believe, have some chemical differences with us...regarding metabolism, especially.
BUT....it seems pretty clear to me that if so many here were able to completely stop obsessive craving and binging behavior simply by eliminating simple carbs and decreasing total carbs....when this was a problem before....indicates that there has to be a physiologic component. And how unfair to yourself to blame your emotional issues for a behavior when it may be at least partly due to simple biology and chemistry....or maybe anatomy and biochemistry....and something you have little control over.
And back to the drug addiction analogy.....many family members think that if they could just find a great therapist to figure out why the addict turned to drugs in the first place, that they could "fix" or cure the problem.....and this is so totally wrong, unfortunately. Something may have been underlying....although generally, it's usually just a matter of coincidental exposure and not that they were driven to it......but the main factor seems to be biochemical. One person can get pain medication after surgery and they are instantly in love.....whereas another can take the same pain med and feel like crap and stay away from it....but have a drink at a cocktail party and fall in love with alcohol. It's completely a matter of biochemistry....what makes us feel great....due to our unique body chemistry.
Is there an emotional component? Sure....but it becomes moot for all practical purposes. Once the addiction kicks in, one can't go backwards.
And....the addiction is never fixed/cured....it's just made inactive and can rear it's ugly head quite easily....in large part due to biochemical reasons....forever. It's a life-long battle....though it gets easier the more time away from the behavior/substance one lets pass.
I don't mean to be telling people that it's all biochemical....so blame that and not yourselves. The problem is...once the biochemical situation is activated....simply trying to control the emotional component is rather futile. One has to fix the physiologic first....and then work on the emotional/psych issues.
Many addicts will tell you that they simply had an exposure and they were instantly in love.....and off to the races. They loved it...it was as simple as that....loved the feeling it gave them. But then it became something they wanted when they were stressed....or bored....or...it was raining...or it wasn't raining...or they had a hangnail....and so on. But the emotional definitely started to get involved. And then the big problem was....they had difficulty coping with them WITHOUT the behavior.
I'm sure.....that back in the day.....when the early settlers or pioneers thought that oranges and apples were a huge treat and treasure to find in their stockings on Christmas morning......there was not a problem of binging on Twinkies and Doritos. Because they were not available.....and who would binge on apples or oranges? Does that mean they would not have engaged in that behavior if they HAD had access to those sugary, carby, fatty foods? I'm sure the answer is no. We have the biochemical stage set.....and then it's a matter of exposure, I think. And then emotional issues get intertwined...and become difficult to totally separate. I'm sure the settlers had plenty of emotional issues to deal with too.....but couldn't get the biochemical satisfaction...or relief....from eating Twinkies or Doritos.
So...yes....I do think that binging because you love the taste of the food is a huge contributing factor. Had you never tasted those foods....you'd probably not miss them....or engaged in that behavior.
One caveat, though....I'm not talking about the seriously disordered bulimic binging stuff. That involves all sorts of emotional issues.
deena
Just because it tastes good?
