Treating food addiction, a mental illness associated with anxiety and trauma, requires treating both mind and body
Amidst the everyday chaos of life, food is one of the simplest comforts. But for compulsive eaters, food is an easily accessible drug used in an attempt to fill a constant void. Associated with anxiety and trauma, food addiction is about more than monitoring what you eat, and can have serious health effects.
“Compulsive eating is not about a lack of willpower or knowledge of what to eat,” says Tauri Hall, a counsellor with the Hopewell eating disorder resource centre in Ottawa. “It’s typically a symptom of severe anxiety, diminished self-esteem or unresolved trauma. People with this disorder focus on diets and weight loss, but the underlying issues are not resolved.”
Untreated, adds Diana Norton, also a counsellor with Hopewell, food addiction doesn’t go away. “If you look closely, someone with disordered eating has likely substituted food as a vice to help deal with something else, as others use overwork, alcohol or smoking.”
An individual suffering from binge eating, a characteristic of compulsive eating, engages in frequent episodes of uncontrolled eating, often followed by periods of depression and guilt. Many binge eaters are overweight or obese. Obesity can lead to an array of health issues including type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.
The best treatment involves both mind and body. Here are some options:
- Behaviour modification or psychotherapy counselling
- A good nutritionist and a regular exercise routine
- Meditation, yoga or an alternative spiritual practice to help manage stress
- Medication (if determined helpful by a doctor)
“Our childhood experiences, including trauma, can create deficits in our ability to cope with the challenges of life,” says Hall. “The best way to avoid problems in your children is to help them express feelings. Allow them to have a voice, to know it’s natural to be angry, sad or hurt. Then help them express it in a healthy way, not by building negative habits.”
Aside from being a biological need, eating has become a pleasurable experience which is why the food industry, no matter which part of the world it is that you are in, has been one of the most successful business ventures over the years.
However, the problem lies in the fact that some individuals can fall victim to compulsive overeating disorder, which is more popularly known as food addiction.
Food addiction is characterized by an incontrollable impulse to binge on food. Those addicted tend to eat faster than normal, and despite the fact that they already feel a fullness in their stomach, food addicts still try to eat as much as they can.
As opposed to another eating disorder called bulimia wherein an individual goes on an eating binge and tries to fast, use a laxative or force themselves to vomit afterwards, a food addict does not feel the guilt after the fact. Just like those who have a drug addiction problem, food addiction leads individuals to feel a different high after they overeat.
Although there is no one factor which can be pinpointed as the specific cause of food addiction, it is more likely caused by emotional problems such as depression. In addition, if a food addict is unable to satisfy a craving, there is a physical manifestation of a headache or nausea.
Just like any type of addiction, food addiction has negative effects to your health so once you recognize the symptoms, you should immediately seek professional guidance and overcome this type of eating disorder. The first step to recovery is, of course, the realization and acceptance of the problem. Medically, individuals must identify which foods -- the trigger foods -- cause allergic symptoms and cravings.
There is no easy way to combat food addiction; it will require intense discipline in modifying eating patterns and lifestyle. A manageable exercise program should be embraced along with dietary changes that may be maintained. Ambitious attempts to change eating patterns abruptly or to lose weight quickly rarely have longterm success.
The physiological and psychological dependency of food can best be broken when the individual recognizes that they are powerless to combat it alone. They must look to God, who alone is able to provide help and healing in this and all areas of human helplessness. As an individual seeks Him, he will find health and healing and recovery. “Dear friend, I am praying that all is well with you and that your body is as healthy as I know your soul is”
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