Guided Self-Help for Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder, affecting 2% of men and 3.5% of women in their lifetimes. Although the percentages might seem low, if we were to put this in real numbers based on the US population alone (308,000,000 +), more than 6 million men and 10 million women will experience binge eating disorder in their lifetimes. Most likely these numbers are low. For one thing, the statistics from the National Eating Disorders Association reflect a gender binary (men and women only) and exclude transgender and gender non-binary folkx who suffer from disproportionally high rates of eating disorders. Second, eating disorders thrive in secrecy and shame. The rates are likely much higher if eating disorders were screened for and detected accurately and compassionately.
These numbers are staggering. Binge eating disorder is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating. While the amount of food a person might consume varies, usually someone will experience several of the following signs or symptoms during an episode of binge eating:
Feeling like you can’t control how much or what you’re eating or feel like you can’t stop eating once you get started
Eating more rapidly than you normally would
Eating until you feel uncomfortably full
Eating food (typically in larger amounts than you normally would) when you’re not physically hungry
Eating alone due to embarrassment about what or how much you’re eating
Feeling disgusted, depressed, or guilty after an episode of binge eating
If you’re experiencing any or all of the signs & symptoms of binge eating disorder listed above, and this is causing you distress, you deserve to have someone help you heal. The first step is reaching out to someone who treats binge eating disorder (like me!). The National Eating Disorders Association has lots of helpful information on their website about binge eating disorder and resources to help.
Guided self-help can be a great place to start. I’ve created a self-help guide called “Help! I Can’t Stop Bingeing!". You can get your free copy by visiting my home page and joining my email list in the pop-up box. Take the first important step today and reach out!
Photo by Bethany Newman (@bnewman) via Unsplash