Every human being needs food to survive as it is an integral part of our wellness, but you must have heard the saying ‘too much of a good thing can be bad for you’. In the case of food, most people don’t realize that they have developed an over eating disorder addiction. It can be difficult to identify whether someone has an over eating disorder addiction, since food comes in so many different forms, and if you binge eat on a particular type of food, that doesn’t mean you have an addiction for it.
Over eating disorder addiction is when an individual starts to suffer from an addiction for food in all forms, and simply can’t stop consuming food, even if it is destroying their health. They eat all types of food and pay no attention to their general hygiene, while going to great lengths to gorge on as much food as they possibly can, since they always feel hungry.
What is over eating disorder addiction?
People can become addicted to the ‘good’ feeling you get when you consume a certain food, which may cause them to continue eating, even when they’re not hungry. This behavior can be detrimental for their health and may even cause them problems in their relationships. A person suffering from over eating disorder addiction will binge on food to obtain pleasurable feelings. They can therefore suffer from severe emotional, physical and social problems like:
- Heart disease
- Isolation
- Depression
- Digestive issues
- Obesity
- Low self-esteem
Anyone suffering from over eating disorder is going to engage in destructive behaviors and eat as much food as possible to feel good again. They will suffer from mood swings, and be irritable, depressed, or angry when they’re not eating.
Causes of Over Eating Addiction
Over eating disorder addiction may be caused by several factors, which could be social, psychological, and even biological. The biological causes may mean hormonal imbalances and abnormalities in the brain structure, which fuels the addiction. Psychological factors like sexual or emotional abuse, chronic low self-esteem, failure to cope with grief or loss may cause you to binge eat in order to relieve the pain and cope with the problem.
Social factors can also cause a person to resort to over eating, which can be brought about due to child abuse, pressure from society, stressful life events, social isolation, and lack of social support. Over eating disorder addiction may also be as a result of substance abuse or a complex mental health problem.
Signs and Symptoms
If you want to find out whether you have an over eating disorder addiction, you need to check out the following signs and symptoms of the addiction:
- Irritability
- Headaches
- Restlessness
- Suicidal ideas
- Digestive disorders
- Difficulty concentrating
- Eating till you feel ill
- Chronic fatigue, decreased energy
- Eating in isolation, hiding and eating
- Eating more food than you can tolerate
- Continuing eating even if you don’t feel hungry
- Spending huge amounts of money on food
- Avoiding going out to binge eat on food
If you or someone you know is suffering from over eating disorder addiction, you should seek professional help in order to overcome this addiction.
