I am relieved to see in print the genuine experience of a binge eating person and a description of the in-depth psychological work necessary to heal beyond the need to mindlessly devour food.
I've been working as a psychotherapist specializing in eating disorder recovery for over 25 years. I am still sad, frustrated and amazed at the lack of public appreciation for the anguish people with these disorders experience.
The eating or non-eating is not about vanity, greed, weak moral fiber, lack of willpower, desire for attention or any cause that the public and some professionals in the healing professions believe can be resolved with fast answers, diets and willpower.
As you rightly say in your article, "Overwhelming feelings of sadness, anger or stress trigger episodes of eating unusually large quantities of food, often when she's not at all hungry."
So diets, diet pills and food focus are not the issues. The issue is overwhelming feelings.
Binge eaters may not get the healing attention they need because they are more likely to hurt themselves than others.
They are not using alcohol and crashing cars. They are not using drugs and killing, robbing or creating public mayhem.
I'm especially glad to see you give the binge-eating person a name and a story. You help the binge-eating person gather understanding and, I hope, evoke some compassion that will disperse the harsh judgments.
Yet your article about the problems binge eaters face in the holidays doesn't address the real people trapped in binge behaviors. Although the article begins with a description of emotional triggers for binge eating, it goes on to focus on food control as the primary answer: "Most patients can learn to control binge eating with cognitive behavioral therapy" and "We know that a pattern of regular eating is important" for binge eaters. In other words, if the problem looks like it's about a hand bringing food to a mouth, then the answer must be how to stop the hand.
I can't argue with these statements. But binge eaters have a compelling need to binge. They can find real freedom from the binge eating behavior if they develop from within, so that they can function well in situations that would formerly send them to the food cupboards.
This development can come from in-depth psychotherapy, regular and committed mindfulness practices or a major life challenge that forces them to grow or die.
Accurate but limited information that focuses on eating habits and weight interventions neglect this important point.
Joanna Poppink, MFT Los Angeles
Add comment