Sometimes you can reward yourself with a favorite brownie after completing a challenging project or placing a bet at 22Bet that has brought you a large prize. But if emotional overeating becomes constant, there are problems with weight, health, well-being, and self-esteem. Let’s understand what the causes of compulsive overeating are and how to recognize the disorder.
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What Compulsive Overeating Is
Compulsive overeating is one of the most common eating disorders. The problem isn’t just the quality of foods and excessive calories consumed. Compulsive means “compulsive,” “beyond the control of reason.” A person cannot eliminate it through willpower, the phenomenon is psychogenic in nature. The disorder manifests itself in overeating even in the absence of a sense of hunger. The next meal is followed by feelings of guilt and shame for failure to prevent another attack. Regular episodes often lead to weight gain and the development of related diseases.
Symptoms of Compulsive Overeating
To diagnose compulsive overeating in yourself and your loved ones, pay attention to several symptoms. When three or more of them are present, there is a need to see a doctor. Particularly alarming are the signals if a person:
- Eats much faster than before, literally sweeps away food from the table and from the refrigerator, not having time to wait for satiety.
- Does not feel hungry, but still chews something “out of boredom” or “just because it tastes good.
- Eats “up to nausea” in large portions.
- Prefers to eat alone because of embarrassment or shame associated with the meal.
- Has feelings of guilt, disgust for himself or herself after a meal.
- Is dissatisfied with his or her appearance, body composition, and size of clothes.
After eating something tasty, blood glucose levels rise sharply, which gives energy. If a person lives at a fast pace, doesn’t get enough sleep and doesn’t eat well, this way of adding energy becomes a habit and can be compared to caffeine and drug addiction. The hormone cortisol, produced during stress, increases appetite and contributes to the accumulation of fat in the body. That is why obesity mostly affects people in developed countries, where there is no problem with food and the level of chronic stress is high.
How to Distinguish Between Hunger and Emotional Addiction
Emotional overeating isn’t always recognized and is not considered a problem until the consequences become apparent. But there are significant differences between this condition and hunger. Emotional hunger comes on gradually, depending on how long ago you ate. If the desire to pounce on food appears suddenly, most likely, it’s connected with emotions. This would be confirmed by the craving for specific products, especially harmful and caloric ones. Physiological hunger is indicated by sensations in the body: a feeling of emptiness and rumbling in the stomach, while emotional hunger comes “from the head”: a person first thinks about food and then realizes that he wants to eat.
The marker of emotional overeating is mindless eating, when you don’t care what you eat or how much you eat, and then there is guilt and remorse for not controlling the process. There is a simple test for physical hunger. If you feel an overwhelming desire to eat something, ask yourself if you want an apple (olives, broccoli, cheese – any healthy but not your favorite food). If you’re ready to snack this way, you can break away for lunch because you really want to eat. When you feel that only an eclair will satisfy your hunger, you are probably exposed to emotions and need to work with them, because food won’t help solve the problem.
Causes of Compulsive Overeating
The reason for the desire to eat something unhealthy becomes any situation in which it’s uncomfortable: boring waiting for the solution of an important issue, a quarrel with a friend or preparation for a serious event. In this case, the reasons for overeating can be both psychological and physical.
Genetic Factor
Patients diagnosed with compulsive overeating often have an increased sensitivity to dopamine, which is responsible for feelings of reward and pleasure. There is also evidence that the disorder is hereditary.
Gender
Compulsive overeating affects women more often. In the U.S., 3.6% of women have experienced compulsive overeating symptoms at some point in their lives, compared to 2% of men. This is due to both biological and social factors.
Weight Problems
They can be both a consequence and a cause of an eating disorder. Most people with compulsive overeating are obese, and doctors often find compulsive overeating symptoms in patients seeking weight loss surgery.
Brain Changes
Research has shown that compulsive overeating depends on the structure of the brain. Some changes in brain function lead to increased food cravings and decreased self-control.
Body Image
Frames imposed by stereotypes, advertising and the environment lead to a rejection of one’s features and comfort level. Constant dissatisfaction with one’s appearance, attempts to follow strict diets and excessive physical activity coupled with feelings of guilt give rise to eating disorders.
Triggers That Provoke Overeating
Strong negative emotions aren’t always the main component of eating disorders. Experts note several other aspects that influence overeating and can also be corrected. For example, therapists don’t rule out a social cause: many people find it difficult to refuse an offer to eat, they eat “for the company” not to offend their loved ones. People often eat not only stress, but also boredom. This strategy is inherent in those who are accustomed to an active lifestyle. Once a lot of free time appears in the schedule, they don’t know what to do with it.
Lovers of multitasking are also prone to overeating. Such people find it difficult to watch a movie without snacks, and socializing with friends is unthinkable for them without food.
Emotional hunger can be the body’s response to not wanting to do something. This is a kind of procrastination: I’ll definitely start cleaning, but I’m going to eat. Thus, it seems to the brain that we are not slacking off, but are busy doing something, although the only reason for such a snack is the desire to postpone unpleasant obligations. Often emotional overeating results from years of habit.
Consequences of Compulsive Overeating
Compulsive overeating is associated with several significant risks to physical, emotional and social health. Patients with compulsive overeating suffer from obesity, which leads to diabetes, heart and vascular problems, and an increased risk of developing tumors. Studies have shown that people with the disorder have an even greater risk of developing these health problems compared to those who are overweight but are not prone to overeating.
