Come Discover Your Best Binge Eating Treatment

Binge eating disorder is a compulsive behavior in which someone habitually eats far more than they need. It goes well beyond simply the normal cravings we all have for goodies or snacking between meals. It's a serious illness. Fortunately, there are effective treatments.

Binge eaters continue to gorge themselves long after normal hunger pangs have subsided, long after they feel full even. Yet, the person feels helpless to stop. No amount of guilt stops them.

One reason is that anxiety and guilt are common (partial) causes of binge eating. Shame has no power to stop us when it is the shame itself driving the irrational behavior.

Many different treatment methods can help, however. They vary in detail — as you'd expect since the specific causes are often individual. Yet, many emphasize similar elements: managing stress more productively, exploring the roots of self-destructive behavior, raising self-esteem, etc.

Cognitive behavioral therapy has proved to be an effective approach to treating binge eating disorder. At bottom, it holds that invalid perceptions and incorrect views are at the root of much of the problem.

Invalid perceptions about body image are common evaluative errors. Incorrect thinking about how to cope are another. Sub-optimal choices driven by them can be modified, according to CBT. It has a good track record to back up the theory.

Interpersonal therapy is another approach, one that often overlaps or serves as a partner to CBT. Here, the focus is more on relationships than self. Harsh parental judgments, teasing by peers, and more can encourage binge eating. Helping someone find ways to understand and cope with that is a common part of IT.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy concentrates less on history, personal views, or relationships and more on action. It recognizes the importance of all those. But it emphasizes learning better skills to tolerate or reduce stress. It explores ways to improve mood management and regulate emotions.

For extreme cases, there are some drug treatments that may form part of an overall binge eating disorder therapy. Antidepressants, at least temporarily, can help. Topamax (originally developed to control seizures) has been shown reduce binge eating episodes.

[With this last method, however, it's important to carefully consider any possible side effects that can accompany drug use. It's generally thought to be, at best, a temporary adjunct to treat binge eating.]

Self-help approaches are also possible and popular, particularly for those whose illness is not extreme or long-lived. In one sense, all eating disorder treatments are self-help methods (apart from temporary prescription drug therapy). All wellness starts from within; all health programs have to be sustained by continual personal commitment.

Self-help methods may encompass any of the above (apart from drugs) and make heavy use of Internet, book store, or library materials to provide guidance. Sadly, many of those methods are little more than snake oil treatments. It can be difficult for the novice to tell 'nutrition' from 'poison' here without professional help.

First, do two things to begin an effective binge eating treatment. Recognize the problem exists, and choose to do something about it today. Those are the first steps to finding your best binge eating treatment.