Both men and women living with Binge Eating Disorder suffer a combination of symptoms similar to those of Compulsive Overeaters and Bulimia. They periodically go on large binges, eating unusually large quantities of food very fast & uncontrollably, until they are uncomfortably full. Their weight is usually above average & they tend to find it harder losing weight and maintaining it. Unlike Bulimia, they don’t purge following a Binge episode.

Reasons can be similar to those of Compulsive Overeating; a way to hide from emotions, to fill an emotional void and to cope with daily stresses and problems. Bingeing can be used as a way to keep people away, to subconsciously maintain an overweight appearance to cater to society's stigma "if I'm fat, no one will like me," as each person suffering may feel undeserving of love. As with Bulimia, Binge eating can also be used as self-punishment for doing "bad" things, or for feeling badly about themselves. Sufferers are at risk of heart attack, high blood-pressure and cholesterol, kidney disease and/or failure, arthritis and bone deterioration, and stroke.

In our society today, people are unduly influenced to be slim or considered “successful” in their life & love by the media and the fashion industry. People mistake the desire for adulation from others as an end in itself, wanting to be admired and seen by others as being something they don’t genuinely feel they are. The belief that image is all important rather than the integrity of the person often needs exploring and unraveling, challenging some of these “hard–wired” beliefs.

Eating disorders often result from a combination of many factors: events, feelings or pressures leading to a feeling of inability to cope including low self-esteem, family relationships, problems with friends, the death of someone special, problems at work, school, college or at university, lack of confidence, sexual or emotional abuse.

I believe that it is essential to build a strong relationship with you to help you discover your genuine feelings, explore ways to help express them appropriately, to substitute healthier behaviours and build self esteem, which is the foundation of helping with Eating Disorders.

This often means longer term therapy (including Dialectic Behaviour Therapy) which would typically last between 12 and 20 sessions, taking time to enable you to become comfortable with investigating and accepting your genuine feelings, to build a firm foundation of self-esteem and to slowly make long lasting changes for the better.

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Updated 07/05/10