Eating to Feel Happy: The Psychological Origins of Compulsive Eating

There’s no doubt about it, for many people, eating is a psychological game. Bingeing may be the most common food disorder in the United States. Almost everyone overeats occasionally, but, what separates these situations from bingeing is the loss of control. Compulsive overeaters consume a large amount of calories in a short period of time. Unlike bulimics, they don’t purge after these episodes, so they tend to gain weight. Many of them struggle with feelings of shame and depression × Depression
Depression /de·pres·sion/ Depression is defined as a mental condition characterized by feelings of severe despondency and dejection, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep. Statistics has shown that diagnosis of depression is growing at a very dangerous rate. Globally, depression affects over 350 million people of all ages. Depression has been linked to other negative health outcomes, such as obesity, heart disease, and stroke. Compared to those not affected by depression those who face it are more likely to be unemployed and have a higher chance of divorce. Most people that suffer from depression do not seek care or attention. Since this is a global issue, many efforts are made to help those who are suffering depression. It is important for those that face depression to find help so that they can overcome this plague that millions of people face.
. The depression associated with the disorder is a constant health problem. It can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gallbladder disease, heart disease and certain types of cancer.

C.A.R.E. treatment for compulsive eating has helped hundreds of troubled teens × Troubled Teens
Troubled Teens /trou.bled/ /teens/ n. Noun A troubled teen is defined as a person that is between the age 13-19 that is beset by problems or conflict. Every Teenager faces problems that they must encounter in their life.  Problems arise in every person’s life both big and small yet sometimes we allow even the most insignificant of problems affect our lives.  Sometimes with teenagers they allow trials in their life greatly affect them in negative ways.  Typically when a person (typically teenagers) face problems in their lives, the ability to cope with the problem does not exist.  When teenagers turn to other things to cope with the feelings of the problems that they usually face  things such as drugs and alcohol, pornography, criminal activity, etc. It is important to find help for troubled teens as soon as possible.  There are many different programs that are available to help troubled teens with the problems that they face each with a different approach and nature to the program.
find recovery. If you have a child who needs the help of these services, call C.A.R.E. at 866-492-9215, today.

Whoever Said that Mealtime Doesn’t Make Them Happy, is a Liar!

Why do people become binge eaters? No one is really sure, but depression, impulsivity × Impulsivity
Impulsivity has been variously defined as behavior without adequate thought, the tendency to act with less forethought than do most individuals of equal ability and knowledge, or a predisposition toward rapid, unplanned reactions to internal or external stimuli without regard to the negative consequences of these reactions. Impulsivity is associated with many different psychiatric disorders including mania, personality disorders and substance abuse disorders. However, there is significant disagreement among researchers regarding the definition and credibility of impulsivity and how it should be measured, if at all. The onset for impulsivity for teens is usually between the ages of 12 and 13 and may be associated with lack of inhibition control in the brain. If at age 15-16 lack of impulse control suddenly appears, this is thought to be late onset and usually will correct itself around ages 18-19. Late onset impulse control is usually due to peer pressure. It is important to define where your teen falls on this spectrum to determine the type of care or supervision that may be needed.
, and other emotional problems have something to do with it. Food makes people feel happy. Maybe brain chemicals and metabolism affect it, too. Maybe genes are involved, since it often occurs in several members of the same family.

On a more personal note, there is something else – I believe that my eating disorder × Eating Disorder
Eating disorders /eat·ing/ /dis·or·der/ The definition of an eating disorder as any a wide variety of psychological disorders involving characteristics or habits related to irregular eating patterns. Eating disorders usually arise from a negative or distorted self-image and are serious emotional and physical issues that involve extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues. Types of eating disorders include those such as Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorders, etc. There are many signs that can help signify an eating disorder. Signs may include: a refusal to eat/denial of hunger, an intense fear of gaining weight, a negative or distorted self- image, excessive exercise, a flat mood or lack of emotion. It is important recognize symptoms or possible signs of eating disorders in yourself or other individuals. If you find someone that is struggling with an eating disorder, there are many types of way that you can help. Specialists are trained to help with eating disorders because they may dangerous but they are curable.
stems from dieting and self-deprivation. The psychological game of where my next meal is going to come from is mind blowing. Common sense should tell me that I’m not going to starve. But, the ice cream in the freezer keeps calling my name and I can’t resist the jumbo bucket of popcorn at the movies. Powerful forces in my mind that I don’t recognize, must be driving me to binge. So, instead of just going on a diet, maybe I need to change the way I approach food.

Tips on Ways to Approach Food

Structure your mealtimes
Set rules like not snacking between meals
Change the way you think about food
Learn to enjoy the foods you can control
Practice how you’ll respond to situations that set you up to to overeat