Stress is inevitable, and you most certainly have experienced it before. It can induce a lot of reactions in your body, like faster heartbeat, stress, anxiety, and more. These kinds of things can trigger people to have unhealthy habits like binge eating.
Some people use binge eating as a way to cope with stress, but it’s not the right thing to do. Binge eating is unhealthy and can create a multitude of problems in the future, both physical and mental. With that, there are ways on how to deal with stress without having to binge eat, but first, you must know the connection between stress and this eating disorder.
The myth that you can tell who has an eating disorder based upon their appearance is incredibly dangerous to those who are struggling. — Jennifer Rollin MSW, LCSW-C
Stress, Binge Eat, And Then Stress
For some people, stress intensifies or induces the need to binge eat, and thus, they overeat. Individuals with this disorder usually use it as a way to cope with the stress and tension that they feel. To outsiders, it might seem like it’s easy to get out of this eating problem, but the process of binge eating is cyclical. When not treated or dealt with immediately, it will just go on and on and on until the person contracts some severe physical condition.
If a person feels stressed, he turns to food. However, after eating so much, thoughts about weight gain creates a feeling of guilt. It can worsen the person’s stress, and this is the problem. The individual will then go back to square one and will do it all over again because he’s stressed.
Some events that might cause stress which can be accompanied by binge eating are:
- Life-changing decisions like moving to a new city, changing careers, or getting fired, among others
- Separating or divorcing your spouse
- Death in the family or a close friend
- Bullying in school or at the workplace
- Financial problems or money issues
Another factor is that people who have PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder may also binge eat. (PTSD is a mental health issue that arises when a person experiences or witnesses a very traumatic event.)
How Stress Makes You Eat
It’s not uncommon for people to turn to chocolate or cookies whenever they feel stressed out. It’s because whenever you’re stressed, your body releases this stress hormone called cortisol, and that makes you hungrier or craving for food, especially the sweet stuff. For people with this disorder, their cortisol levels are higher than others which makes them more prone to overeating.
Patients with eating disorders contend with a difficult emotional landscape marked by isolation and loneliness as well as shame, guilt and embarrassment, not to mention a profound hopelessness about the possibilities of emotional connection. — Tom Wooldridge, PsyD, ABPP, CEDS
Have you noticed that when you’re overeating, you munch on sweets or foods that are high in carbs? Usually, it’s food like French fries or any fast food for that matter, cookies, chips, or high in sodium or oil content comfort food. It’s because these kinds of foods help in the release of serotonin which is a happy hormone. Eating these unhealthy foods will then ‘comfort you,’ and the body is tricked into thinking that it’s good for you.
However, do not be fooled because this is only temporary, and after overeating, you might experience a sudden drop in blood sugar. As mentioned earlier, binge eating and stress combined, you are bound to get physical ailments.
What To Do?
If you have a problem with binge eating and stress altogether, you have to go to a therapist for counseling sessions. Depending on the severity of your disorders, the therapist will prepare a counseling program to fit your particular problem with an intervention plan. It can be treated, that is if you are willing to cooperate.
It is time for you to accept yourself and celebrate who you are. — Greta Gleissner LCSW