Effects of Overeating Disorder on Mental Health

Compulsive Overeating Disorder is a mental health condition and behavioral disorder characterized by uncontrollable urges to eat when you are not hungry. Overeating disorder is a disordered eating condition. This means that it may not necessarily fall under the category of eating disorders, like anorexia nervosa, bulimia, or binge eating, but the behavior is outside of what is considered normal eating behavior.

Overeating Disorder Vs. Binge Eating Disorder

Overeating disorder is a compulsive behavior. The main difference between overeating disorder and binge eating disorder is the severity of symptoms and the frequency of binge eating episodes. Both can take a toll on your mental health, although binge eating is more severe.

With an overeating disorder, you may hoard or hide your food. You may feel embarrassed over the volume of food you eat and eat in secret. You eat even when you are not hungry, and this can cause pain, bloating, and digestive issues. Your weight may fluctuate, or if compulsive overeating is a consistent behavior, you may experience rapid weight gain.

Your body image and self-esteem may decrease the more often you engage in the behavior and see negative physical changes.

Causes of Overeating Disorder and Binge Eating Disorder

Overeating disorder can have numerous causes. Stress and hormonal changes are common causes of the behavior. When you are stressed, you may reach for comfort food to fill an emotional need.

Hormonal changes can drive cravings, leading you to eat sugary or salty foods when you are not hungry. If you are a woman, you may feel these changes more intensely, especially around your menstrual cycle. The week leading to the beginning of a period and the week of ovulation can trigger compulsive overeating.

Often our emotional needs drive overeating disorder behaviors. For example, if you find yourself alone every evening, the loneliness and feelings of neglect or abandonment can make overeating a habit. If the behavior continues, your thoughts, emotions, and actions may escalate to binge-eating disorder behavior.

Other factors can contribute to overeating disorder such as trauma, childhood experiences, boredom, and grief.

Although external and environmental factors can contribute to Binge Eating Disorder, genetic and psychological factors also play a role. Some people are more prone to compulsive and high-risk behaviors.

Mental conditions like depression can also lead people to eat for comfort, creating a habit. The brain rewards this new habit with a serotonin and dopamine release that leaves us feeling happy. The next time we feel stressed, bored, or angry, we may head for a binge.

If you wonder where the line is separating compulsive overeating from binge eating, ask yourself the following questions:

• How often do I compulsively overeat? Is it more than once a week? Do I engage in the behavior several times each month?
• How long have I been compulsively overeating? Has it been more than three months?
• Do I feel out of control when I eat?
• Do I eat large amounts of food to the point of uncomfortableness or pain?
• When I am bingeing, does it feel like I will never be full?
• Do I eat rapidly? Do I eat in secret?
• Have I lost all sense of a proper-sized portion? If I measure my food, am I surprised to see that I eat multiple servings of food?
• Do I feel sick, disgusted, ashamed, or guilty after a binge?

If you answered yes to several of these questions, consider seeking help. Binge eating disorder is a mental health condition. A counselor can help you get to the bottom of your emotions and thoughts that result in a binge.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a technique used to treat various mental disorders and is effective for treating eating disorders. With CBT, a counselor helps you to identify negative thoughts and reframe them.

This perspective shift changes your emotions and helps you to stop a binge. You learn how to shift your thinking before or during a binge. CBT puts you back in control of your eating by making you aware of sabotaging thoughts.

Your counselor will introduce CBT strategies to you and assign homework for you to practice outside of your session. You may meet with a counselor in person or virtually, depending on your needs and schedule.

Do you need help?

Do you suspect that you or a loved one suffer from overeating disorder, binge eating disorder, or another eating disorder? Eating disorders affect mental health. You are at a higher risk of developing depression and anxiety if you engage in eating disorder behaviors. Contact our office today at Little Elm Christian Counseling in Texas to schedule an appointment with a counselor specializing in disordered eating.