Food Abuse
Broadly speaking, there are three major ways that we may use food to abuse ourselves:
Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia
Compulsive Eating
Where those suffering with Anorexia will starve themselves and see food as an enemy, those suffering with Bulimia and Compulsive Eating tend to have a love/hate relationship with food, first using food as a comfort device, then hating themselves for losing control.
Really, the only difference between Bulimia and Compulsive Eating is that bulimic’s force themselves to vomit after a binge, whilst compulsive eaters tend to just feel temporarily sick and then emotionally bereft as they realise that once again, they have lost control.
Compulsive eating, or bingeing, is probably the most unglamorous of all eating disorders, hence the lack of its public profile. Most compulsive eaters are overweight and their desire for food is ‘hidden’ away from family and friends. Bingers don’t tend to binge in public, instead they go to enormous lengths to hide their obsession - visits to the fridge in the middle of the night, or chocolate bars hidden under the bed. Admitting you are obsessed by food is hardly socially acceptable, and unfortunately this attitude contributes greatly to the lack of information readily available. Sufferers think they are the only one, who has this problem and therefore nobody else could understand, but believe it or not there are many, many people out there who are also suffering in silence - some for their entire lives.
Having a ‘pig-out’ occasionally does not automatically mean that you suffer from the disorder. It is the compulsive aspect, the control of the situation that separates a ‘pig-out’ from a binge. A binger’s life pretty much revolves around food - what to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner becomes the main focus of the day; not to mention the myriad of snacks afterwards and in between. However, there are some people who just love to eat good food and, despite being overweight and/or unfit, are perfectly happy with their own self image. As mentioned before, it is the control, or lack of it, that is the main criteria when deciding whether someone suffers from a compulsive eating disorder.
For the most part, compulsive eating disorders stem from some sort of emotional blockage or reaction that may have been left dormant for many years. Generally, food is seen as a comfort factor, used to stave off grief, loneliness or unhappiness in some form, and a good binge on chocolate - or whatever your fancy - seems a great way to gain instant relief. Depending on your history, this may be a temporary situation or a lifelong habit that sometimes seems impossible to control. Half the problem, in my opinion is the availability of convenience foods that are designed specifically to make you want more of them. They rarely have any nutritional value and tend to be full of fat and manufactured additives.
Recognising that you have an eating disorder is the first step to breaking this self-destructive cycle and this will be, for most people, the hardest part. It is natural for us to shy away from confronting certain areas of our psyche, and admitting to ourselves that “Yes, I do have a problem” can be extremely painful. But once your obsession has been acknowledged by your own conscious you can decide to change your behaviour and beat the compulsion to eat.
As in all obsessive behaviour, it is important to discover the cause of the problem before trying to do anything about it, and it is at this stage that you may feel you need the help of a professional. There are many organisations, counselors and psychologists who specialise in these conditions who can provide a framework and pathway out. Our emotions and feeling are very complex and finding the ‘trigger’ that makes you binge can be something like finding a needle in a haystack. But however hard and confronting the search may be, discovering your own personal trigger will be a revelation and the major part of overcoming your condition.
To begin with, try tracking your behaviour towards food;
How do you feel when you binge?
Are you happy, sad or lonely?
How do you feel after you have binged?
What situation occurred before your last binge?
How often do you binge?
What food do you eat when you binge - sweet or savoury?
Once you are aware of your own patterns, you can begin to replace your bingeing with something more healthy - try eating fruit instead of chocolate, or do some exercise whenever you feel that binge feeling coming on. Keeping a food diary is the best way to confront binge eating and also keep track of your progress as you gradually begin to cut down on your bingeing and take control of the situation. Count the fat content of your food rather than the calories - remember that a Mars bar has 11 grams of fat, while a piece of fruit has no fat whatsoever. If you try to follow the ration of 30-40g of fat to 30-40g of fibre per day, coupled with regular exercise, you will be on your way to losing weight and controlling your eating.
Naturally, you can expect the odd hiccup as you learn to change you focus on food - after all, there are many temptations our there and we’re all human, aren’t we? But picking yourself up after a slip-up will become easier and easier and eventually you will be able to look at food for what it is - good, nutritious and vital to the health and well-being of our bodies.