Psychotherapy for Binge Eating: what does it consist of?

High-calorie foods are those that are designed, as the name suggests, with a multitude of fats and carbohydrates. The objective is to create a kind of "addiction" in the consumer that leads him to compulsively buy these types of products.

This eating scene has caused a considerable increase in the so-called “binge eating” in recent years, a fairly common disorder today. This type of problem causes the person to eat food (preferably high in calories) as an escape valve to ruminations, problems and/or anxiety.

Of course, what appears to be a relief ends up becoming, over time, a new problem. The rise of this type of disorders and the damage that they can entail in the affected person has motivated the emergence of a series of psychotherapeutic strategies that help to deal with binge eating.

What are binge eating and why are they so harmful?

As we have already mentioned, binge eating is the uncontrolled intake of usually hypercaloric foods. Behind these binges there is no hunger, or rather, not the kind of biological and functional hunger that we need to survive, but

the so-called "emotional hunger".

And what is theemotional hunger”? It is confused with biological hunger, but in reality it is based on emotions. We feel emotional hunger when we notice a certain discomfort that we don't know how to alleviate, so we attribute it to the lack of food. In reality, this discomfort is caused by an incorrect management of emotions.

One of the main characteristics that allow us to distinguish food intake due to biological necessity from something that is the result of anxiety is the time spent eating. Generally, when the intake occurs in a short time, we would be talking about emotional hunger. So, the person enters a vicious circle where they do not recognize the psychological origin of the discomfort they feel, which leads him to visit the fridge again and again to end the discomfort.

• Related article: "Keys to understanding eating disorders"

A Serious Case: Binge Eating Disorder

If compulsive eating reaches an extreme case, we would be talking about Binge Eating Disorder.

What does this psychopathology consist of? As we have already commented, it is about emotional hunger taken to the extreme, in which the affected person you have an uncontrollable craving for food, even when your body is nutritionally sated. The consequences, in addition to physical (health and malnutrition problems) include the inability to get off the wheel, which generates even more emotional discomfort in the person. In these cases, it is essential to go to therapy.

Some of the symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder are:

• Difficulty discerning if you have been hungry until after massive food intake.
• Eating at high speed, hardly chewing or enjoying the taste of the food.
• Negative feelings, such as disgust and guilt, may appear after the binge.
• The person can come to hide the food to be eaten secretly, because that way they feel free from the judgment of others.

It is important to highlight that, unlike bulimia, it is not common for the person affected by Binge Eating Disorder to engage in “compensatory” behaviors after the compulsive act. Both are Eating Disorders (TCA) but, in the case of bulimia, the affected person usually induce vomiting or exercise after eating, with the aim of eliminating calories consumed. For this reason, Binge Eating Disorder is more linked to overweight and obesity.

• You may be interested in: "What are the comorbidities of Eating Disorders?"

What are the therapist's tools for binge eating?

We have already discussed how binge eating is generated by a poor management of emotions. This mismanagement goes through the internalization of certain highly harmful patterns of behavior that, luckily, can be reworked in therapy.

1. Learn to identify emotions

In order for the affected person to be able to distinguish what is real hunger from what is the result of their emotional fluctuations, it is important that the therapist give them tools to understand their emotions.

A method that has been shown to be very effective when it comes to distinguishing and recognizing emotions is write down how we feel in a journal; of course, under the supervision of the therapist.

• Related article: "What is emotional intelligence?"

2. Improved self esteem

Binge eating is often accompanied by weight gain which, in a world of very strict beauty canons, can harm the self-esteem of the affected person. Therefore, it is essential that in therapy the patient is taught, first, to detect ideas about himself that are not functional and, second, to replace them with more beneficial ones. The objective of cognitive restructuring is for the patient to learn to value and respect himself and not engage in self-punishment behaviors.

3. Time management

a correct one time management It's crucial, since many people who binge eat eat at times when the amount of tasks to do is overwhelming them. In other words, these people try to alleviate the uncertainty caused by "not knowing where to start" with food.

The therapist will give the patient tools to correctly plan their day to day. This organization will prevent the person from stagnating in doubts and indecisions that can lead to uncontrolled intake.

4. Exercise relaxation techniques

Relaxation techniques have proven to be highly effective when it comes to treating problems related to stress and anxiety. This kind of activities help the patient deal with moments of “crisis”, since they replace the binge and allow the patient's emotional state to return to normal.