Compulsive Eating Disorder Treatment

For people who compulsively overeat the condition can be qualified as a food addiction coupled with an obsessive relationship with food. Experts in the field of eating disorder treatment address this condition as either a food addiction or behavior characteristic. A person suffering from compulsive overeating disorder is motivated by a driving force to overeat and engage in frequent episodes of uncontrollable eating. Binging makes a person feel out of control and eat food to the point of being overly full and at times can become physically sick because of eating too much food.

People who compulsively overeat typically eat for reasons besides physical hunger. An obsession to compulsively eat is demonstrated through the person's devotion to food and secretive nature in relation to be able to eat in privacy and isolation. Compulsive overeating also leads a person to gain weight and become obese but this is not a hallmark of someone having the condition only a side effect of high caloric intake on a consistent basis.

Additionally people who have a compulsive overeating disorder engage in grazing behavior and will periodically pick at food throughout the day. Compulsive overeating leads a person to consume large amounts of calories even if small amounts of food are eaten at a time. When the compulsive eating leads to episodes of binging it is a binge eating disorder and when there is continual overeating taking place the person has a compulsive eating disorder. A compulsive eating disorder treatment center can identify and teach a person the difference between the two disorders and provide the skills and knowledge which allows a person to beat the disorder.

When left untreated a compulsive eating disorder can lead a person to experience many different health-related problems such as high cholesterol, hypertension, sleep apnea, depression, kidney disease, arthritis, bone loss, stroke and diabetes. There are certain signs that can identify whether or not a person might have a compulsive eating disorder such signs include the following:

• Binging or uncontrollable eating even when not hungry
• Eating very small quantities in public
• Eating more quickly than normal
• Eating in secret due to shame or guilt
• Feeling guilty due to binging
• Obsession with body weight size
• Depression
• Withdrawing from activities due to embarrassment about body and weight
• Awareness of abnormal eating patterns
• History of being unsuccessful at different diet plans
• History of weight spikes and losses unstable weight maintenance

During episodes of binge eating a person can eat as much as 5000 calories per session and an upwards of 50000 calories or possibly more per day. The feelings that come from compulsive overeating lead the person to feel a high which can be akin to what is experienced by a drug addict. There are also feelings of emotional release and control which make the behavior pattern hard to break and very addictive. Only with compulsive eating disorder treatment can a person truly identify bad patterns of behavior learn a healthier relationship with food and begin the journey to recovery and healing.

Abstaining from addictive food patterns can actually cause a person to experience withdrawal symptoms and lead to depression and anxiety because of increased serotonin levels. There are many biological complexities which one will encounter when dealing with a compulsive eating disorder and this is entirely separated from food issues. Food contains a complex mix of chemicals which affect the human body in a variety of different ways which is manifested in the communication of the stomach and brain. It can be more difficult to try and stop the compulsion alone which is why compulsive eating disorder treatment is such an important asset to those who wish to get better.

With therapy and counseling it is possible for a person to recover from a compulsive eating disorder. More than 80% of those who seek treatment eating disorders report a complete recovery or a significant reduction in instances of binge eating and alleviation of symptoms. Many eating disorders come with psychological components which are only able to be handled effectively with the benefit of medical intervention and assistance. To completely recover, a person needs to seek professional help as quickly as possible and embrace treatment fully and completely.

Chronic compulsive eating can be catastrophic to those who are caught up in the vicious cycle. To avoid permanently damaging the body and health the need for professional eating disorder treatment is extremely important. By engaging in conversation, therapy counseling eating disorder education and other treatment modalities a person can experience a full recovery and be a healthy productive person inside and outside.