I made an appt. to see a therapist. And this time I actually wrote Binge Eating as the reason for my visit. The intake is tomorrow and now I'm not so sure it was a good idea.

Go see the therapist for the intake interview. It might be something you really need and if you don't feel it is right for you or you are not ready for it you can always bow out. I really think you should go, sometimes just talking to a specialist can be cleansing and maybe they can find an emotional need for the binging which is usually the case. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks cleancowgirl. The thing is that I didn't really plan it. I was at the doctor's office today with my son and on a whim decided to ask about an intake for myself. Apparently they had an opening for tomorrow... Glad they didn't give me a lot of time to think about it because I would have cancelled for sure.

I had therapy many many years ago, back before they really even considered binge eating an eating disorder. The therapist (were are talking more than 20 years ago) didn't understand the eating aspect at all, she understood bulimia and anorexic but since I didn't purge, she didn't feel it was a real disorder. This was so long ago that there really was no info related to binge eating. The advice, eat less. That didn't help. However, what did help was speaking with her about day to day things, stress, emotions. Those were all directly related to what made me binge. I had always wished I had gone back a few years ago. In all honesty I was afaird that even this day and age I wouldn't find someone who could help me, treat my binge eating as the disorder it really is.

There is medication that has shown progress for binge eating as well-Vyanse its an ADHD med but has shown to be one med that directly can help treat the eating disorder. I only know because i was looking on line for help and discovered it..they no longer have to just put you on an "antidepressant" this med claims to help and get results at 70mg. Look it up see if it might help.

I only looked for a medication because after 30 years of living with this, trying therapy, self help books, diets etc. nothing worked. Its a disorder, and addiction, whatever you want to call it. There seems to be a coloration between the binge eating, the action the spontaneous binging, the overly "hyper" reaction of eating that this ADHD med works on. I also read that in many many cases binge eaters suffer from a type of ADHD the eating (binges) may be related...just a thought.

This med is very expensive, but the website has a coupon that can be printed and makes your rx cost no more than $30. This is good for 6 rx. After that, most people apply for the company assistance due to the expense, its over $100 a rx even with insurance. I know one lady that is on the med for her adhd, and another lady I know has a son on it, it has helped them for their ADHD and they have had no side effects on a high dose. So, its promising. If I was brave enough I would go to the dr and talk to him about it as well.

Does the therapist specialize in eating disorders?

Therapy helped me a lot.

Therapy can help, and if it doesn't it will at least clarify things. I saught therapy and found out all the reasons I was binging. Depression, guilt, using it as a coping mechanism etc. Finding out what caused the binging however did not stop the binging. It gave me insight but finding out how the car operates and driving it are 2 different things.

I will warn you though that the start of therapy can be a tumultuous time. It makes you probe deep into yourself and brings up all this pain. So in the beginning you may feel worse, kind of like what happens when you try to clean your closet... you have to make a big mess just to clean out those corners and then put everything back orderly.

Hi, I say to try the therapy. Maybe it will help you process your feelings and vent. I have found it to be helpful to examine why I overeat, and to get advice from a trusted professional. I have discovered some insights such as self sabotage, fear of success, etc. Also, there are a lot of good workbooks out on binge eating. Take care.

Hypothetically, it could, it's just an issue of rather or not you can find a sympathetic one who can handle BED better. Right now, I'm in the middle of switching therapist because of my last one not really being trained to deal with the disorder (IMO). And honestly that's putting it lightly.

So the intake was today. The therapist that did the intake was very nice but didn't really know much about eating disorders. mainecyn, I' afraid not a lot has change in 20 years :-(. The good news is that she referred me to a therapist in the clinic that specializes (so she says) in eating disorders. My appt. is in two weeks. I decided to give it a try and hopefully the other therapist will know more about the subject.