Eating disorder?

Question

I've restricted food in the past, exercised in the past and even binged and purged. I think for the most part I've (with help) have gotten all that under control however I've noticed that when I'm stressed (even just a little) I often turn to food. Then feel god awful later when the stress has been resolved. Is this a form of an eating disorder also? Any suggestions to help alleviate or ideas were this stems from?

that should have read exercised excessively

Answer 1

It may be scarey for you, but there's a fairly straight forward explanation to what's going on here.

In the past you have used various 'mechanisms' to 'control' your feelings. For example, at one stage you used to restrict to help you create a sense of control and to (maybe) cover up issues that were troubling you. Then you realsied that restricting was a 'bad thing', so you switched to excessive exercising'. Guess what? You realsied that that too was bad, so you switched to binging & purging. All of these behaviours you have adopted are your ways of coping and they all provide you with lots of control. It takes a lot of effort to do any of the above and it gives you a *false* sense of control.

Now, you've adopted an attitude to food, which you use to calm yourself down. ie. If I eat I'll cover up the bad feelings. Trouble is, the bad feelings are only covered up for about 30 minutes following eating - and then all the bad feelings come back to the surface.

What you have now is not an eating disorder per se. It's more a matter of a bad attitude towards food. You use food (now) to be a controller of feelings, just as in the past you used the lack of food to 'cover things up'.

What you need to do is find appropraite ways of dealing with your feelings. Try not to eat when you arte feeling stressed, but maybe try relaxation exercises, listen to some calm music, read something humerous and then - only when the stress has passed should you eat something *just like other people do*. After all, you can tell yourself 'Other people feel good after eating - so I can also - I've dealt with the stress and now it's time to join others in what most people consider to be a pleasant and enjoyable activity'.

Best.

Answer 2

It doesn't sound like you have an eating disorder, per se, but that you have found ways to deal with the stress and anxiety that you have in your life. Many people turn to food to relieve anxiety, and also exercise.

Some other questions for you - do you have difficulty with nervousness? Do you sometimes feel depressed when you are stressed out? Do you feel a lack of control in your life?

Exercise, even strenous exercise, is not harmful to you unless it causes you to lose an unhealthy amount of weight. Of course, overeating can be unhealthy, depending on what and how much you eat. Talk to your doctor about these symptoms. If you feel they are causing problems for you, some medication can help you resolve some of your anxiety. There are also homeopathic substances that can help you relieve your anxiety more naturally.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I don't know that it is an eating disorder. I don't have an eating disorder but I definitely turn to food when I am stressed or upset and when it is over I am like I can't believe I ate all of this. If you are not embarrassed about it I would go talk to a doctor a psychologist just to be sure that you are not going to have a relapse. Better to be safe than sorry

Answer 4

Stress, depression, withdrawals can lead to food seeking behavior especially for people who really like to eat. People in fact can become addicted to food just like a drug. I was watching a study on TV where doctors were comparing the brain activity of a food addict to that of a drug addict. The results showed high activity in the pleasure centers of the brain for both types of addicts when exposed to their substance(drugs/food) of choice.