Night Eating Syndrome: So Much More Than Just A Bedtime Snack
Night Eating Syndrome was first recognized in 1955 by American psychiatrist, Dr. Albert Stunkard. NES is an eating disorder in which the affected individual wakes several times in the middle of the night and is unable to fall back asleep without eating, even though he or she is not actually hungry. The food eaten is often unhealthy and calorie-dense.
If I Take Medicine To Treat Binge Eating Disorder Can I Breastfeed My Baby
Maybe. Some medicines used to treat binge eating disorder can pass through breastmilk. Certain antidepressants can be used safely during breastfeeding.
Talk to your doctor to find out what medicine works best for you. Learn more about medicines and breastfeeding in our section. You can also enter a medicine into the LactMed® database to find out if the medicine passes through breastmilk and about any possible side effects for your nursing baby.
How To Overcome Binging
The first step in overcoming binge eating is speaking to a medical professional. This person can help with a diagnosis, determine the severity of the disorder, and recommend the most appropriate treatment.
In general, the most effective treatment is CBT, but a range of treatments exists. Depending on individual circumstances, just one therapy or a combination may work best.
No matter which treatment strategy is used, it is important to also make healthy lifestyle and diet choices when possible.
Here are some additional helpful strategies:
- Keep a food and mood diary. Identifying personal triggers is an important step in learning how to control binge impulses.
- Practice mindfulness. This can help increase awareness of binging triggers while helping increase self-control and maintaining self-acceptance (
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Learn To Tolerate The Feelings That Trigger Your Binge Eating
The next time you feel the urge to binge, instead of giving in, take a moment to stop and investigate whats going on inside.
Identify the emotion youre feeling. Do your best to name what youre feeling. Is it anxiety? Shame? Hopelessness? Anger? Loneliness? Fear? Emptiness?
Accept the experience youre having. Avoidance and resistance only make negative emotions stronger. Instead, try to accept what youre feeling without judging it or yourself.
Dig deeper. Explore whats going on. Where do you feel the emotion in your body? What kinds of thoughts are going through your head?
Distance yourself. Realize that you are NOT your feelings. Emotions are passing events, like clouds moving across the sky. They dont define who you are.
Sitting with your feelings may feel extremely uncomfortable at first. Maybe even impossible. But as you resist the urge to binge, youll start to realize that you dont have to give in. There are other ways to cope. Even emotions that feel intolerable are only temporary. Theyll quickly pass if you stop fighting them. Youre still in control. You can choose how to respond.
For a step-by-step guide to learning how to manage unpleasant and uncomfortable emotions, check out HelpGuides free Emotional Intelligence Toolkit.
Bed & Bariatric Surgery Or The Sleeve
Countless individuals struggle with Binge Eating Disorder throughout our nation though many suffer in silence due to the fears and stigmas that surround this painful disorder. A common physical effect that can result from BED is obesity, which can result from consuming a greater amount of food than is needed over time.
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Losing Your Job To A Binge Eating Disorder It Can Happen
You spend about half of your life at your job. It is a big part of your social interaction and provides a platform to boost your self-esteem. So what does a binge eating disorder have to do with your job? Lots of people struggle with BEDs. Studies show as many as 2.6% of our adult population binge eat. Can it really put your job at risk? The answer is yes, and in more ways than you think.
How Common Is Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States, and it affects people of all racial and ethnic groups. About 1.25% of adult women and 0.42% of adult men have binge eating disorder.1 About 1.6% of teens age 13 to 18 years old are affected.2 A much larger percentage of teens and adults have episodes of binge eating or loss-of-control eatingwhich is the feeling that you cannot control your eating, regardless of how much food you actually eatbut at a rate that is not frequent enough to meet the criteria for binge eating disorder.
The average age at which binge eating disorder first occurs is 25 years.1 Nearly two-thirds of people who meet the criteria for binge eating disorder experience binge eating episodes over the span of 1 year or longer.1
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How Is Bed Diagnosed
While some people may occasionally overeat, such as at Thanksgiving or a party, it does not mean they have BED, despite having experienced some of the symptoms listed above.
BED typically starts in the late teens to early twenties, although it can occur at any age. People generally need support to help overcome BED and develop a healthy relationship with food. If left untreated, BED can last for many years .
To be diagnosed, a person must have had at least one binge eating episode per week for a minimum of three months .
The severity ranges from mild, which is characterized by one to three binge eating episodes per week, to extreme, which is characterized by 14 or more episodes per week .
Another important characteristic is not taking action to undo a binge. This means that, unlike bulimia, a person with BED does not throw up, take laxatives, or over-exercise to try and counteract a binging episode.
Like other eating disorders, its more common in women than men. However, its more common among men than other types of eating disorders (
Although these health risks are significant, there are a number of effective treatments for BED.
Summary
BED is linked to an increased risk of weight gain and obesity, as well as associated diseases like diabetes and heart disease. There are also other health risks, including sleep problems, chronic pain, mental health problems, and reduced quality of life.
Binge Eating Disorder: How College Can Make It Worse
With anorexia having the highest mortality rate among any other psychiatric illness, the focus and attention given towards prevention and treatment is absolutely essential. However, sometimes overshadowed is the equally devastating Binge Eating Disorder, also classified as a major eating disorder by the American Psychiatric Association in May of 2013. Learn more about the devastating effects of BED while at college here.
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What Is Binge Eating Disorder And What Are The Symptoms
People with BED may eat a lot of food in a short amount of time, even if they arent hungry. Emotional stress or destress often plays a role and might trigger a period of binge eating.
A person might feel a sense of release or relief during a binge but experience feelings of shame or loss of control afterward .
For a healthcare professional to diagnose BED, three or more of the following symptoms must be present:
- eating much more rapidly than normal
- eating until uncomfortably full
- eating large amounts without feeling hungry
- eating alone due to feelings of embarrassment and shame
- feelings of guilt or disgust with oneself
People with BED often experience feelings of extreme unhappiness and distress about their overeating, body shape, and weight (1,
- 8 ).
An episode of binge eating can be triggered by stress, dieting, negative feelings relating to body weight or body shape, the availability of food, or boredom .
Summary
The causes of BED are not fully known. As with other eating disorders, a variety of genetic, environmental, social, and psychological risks are associated with its development.
Mindful Eating And Bed
When it comes to eating, binge eating disorder may appear to be a food-related problem only. However, mindfulness teaches the practice or state of conscious awareness of oneself, the present moment, thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. Integrating mindfulness techniques in binge eating disorder treatment has been shown to reduce binge eating, improve nutritional outcomes, improve weight management, as well as enhance diabetes management.
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Binge Eating Disorder Treatment
Treatment for BED can be crucial in reducing the lifetime prevalence of the disorder, that is, reducing the likelihood one will struggle with BED behaviors for their lifetime.
As with most eating disorders, the number one, evidence-based treatment recommended is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy . One study notes that CBT has higher abstinence, is well-tolerated, and maintains remission for 1 or 2 years . CBT focuses on the impact that beliefs and thoughts have on subsequent feelings and behaviors, encouraging individuals to alter their core beliefs and thoughts in a way that then alters their behaviors.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is also recommended, as it was created for individuals that struggle with emotion regulation, which is also correlated with BED. DBT focuses on how one can regulate their emotional states, tolerate distress, exist within the present moment, and communicate needs to others. All of these skills work effectively to reduce BED symptoms as well as the symptoms of disorders that often co-occur with BED.
Regardless of the theoretical orientation to treatment, the key is to receive treatment at all. Of course, be a conscious consumer and do not be afraid to ask your treatment team if they are using the most up-to-date, evidence-based treatments and, if they are not, why they are not. Even so, the likelihood of individual achieving remission of BED symptoms and recovery increases with any type of mental health treatment.
What Is Binge Eating And What Is Causing It
Put simply, binge eating is eating uncontrollably. There are two types of binge eating episodes: objective binge eating and subjective binge eating1Fairburn CG. Overcoming binge eating. London, UK: Guilford Press 2013..
With more than one in 20 people engaging in binge eating, this isnt a problem affecting just a few.
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How Is It Treated
Treatment for binge eating disorder includes getting counselling and taking medicine. You may need treatment for a long time to fully recover. You also may need treatment for other problems that often occur with binge eating disorder. These can include bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, obesity, or problems with being overweight.
Identify Your Triggers With A Food And Mood Diary
One of the best ways to identify the patterns behind your binge eating is to keep track with a food and mood diary. Every time you overeat or feel compelled to reach for your version of comfort food Kryptonite, take a moment to figure out what triggered the urge. If you backtrack, youll usually find an upsetting event that kicked off the binge.
Write it all down in your food and mood diary: what you ate , what happened to upset you, how you felt before you ate, what you felt as you were eating, and how you felt afterward. Over time, youll see a pattern emerge.
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Binge Eating Disorder: When Comfort Eating Crosses The Line
Eating for comfort or emotional reasons is not necessarily a bad thing. That is as long as the food does not become the main source of comfort or method for dealing with lifes stress and challenges. Using food to consistently soothe emotional upheaval can quickly become Binge Eating Disorder, and this can result in some serious health consequences.
Physical Signs And Effects Of Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder affects the mind and body in a multitude of ways:
- Brain preoccupation with food and weight, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, disrupted sleep
- Mouth erosion of dental enamel, swollen jaw, bad breath, gum disease, tooth decay
- Throat/oesophagus chronic sore throat, indigestion, heartburn, reflux, inflamed or rupture of oesophagus
- Heart irregular or slow heartbeat, cardiac arrest, heart failure, low blood pressure, fainting, dizziness
- Stomach and intestines ulcers, pain, stomach rupture, bowel problems, constipation, diarrhoea, cramps, bloating
- Hormones irregular or absent periods, loss of libido, infertility
- Kidneys dehydration
- Skin calluses on knuckles, dry skin
- Muscles fatigue, cramps caused by electrolyte imbalance, tiredness, lethargy
- Weight fluctuating weight or weight gain
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Breaking 5 Myths Of Binge Eating
Binge Eating Disorder is the most common of all the eating disorders but incongruently, with the least treatment options for the sufferers. Until recently, BED was not even recognized as an actual disorder and could not be found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by The American Psychiatric Association.
Why Is Binge Eating Disorder Harmful
Binge eating disorder can contribute to many psychological and physical problems through a persons life. Complications of binge eating disorder may include difficulty functioning at work, social isolation, dermatological effects , gastrointestinal effects , and medical conditions related to being in higher-weight bodies, such as heart disorder, joint issues, diabetes, gastroesophageal reflux disease .
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Who Is More Likely To Develop Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder can occur in people of average body weight, but it is more common in people who have obesity, particularly severe obesity. However, it is important to note that most people with obesity do not have binge eating disorder.
Binge eating disorder is more common in younger and middle-aged people. However, older people can be affected, too.
Binge eating disorder is common among people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.3,4 The distress of having diabetes, which requires a constant focus on weight and food control, may be the reason for this link. In some people, binge eating disorder contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes, both through excessive weight gain and increased risk of metabolic abnormalities. Binge eating disorder can also make it harder for people with diabetes to control their blood glucose, also known as blood sugar.
For some people, painful childhood experiencessuch as family problems and critical comments about your shape, weight, or eating habitsare linked to developing binge eating disorder. Binge eating disorder runs in families, and researchers have identified a genetic component as well.
Bed Research: What Do We Know
Since Binge Eating Disorder was first mentioned in the second edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1987, research on BED has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. In fact, in 2013, BED was added to the latest, fifth edition, of the DSM as its own diagnosis.
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Diagnosis Of Bed: Controversies And Evolving Assessment Strategies
The diagnostic criteria for BED are listed in Table . Similar to bulimia nervosa , the definition of a bingeeating episode requires the consumption of an unusually large amount of foodcoupled with a sense of feeling out of control. Also as in BN, the frequencycriterion is twice per week, although this criterion is not well supportedby the literature for BN and has not been validated for BED . Where BN and BEDdiverge is that individuals with BED do not regularly engage in compensatorybehaviors , although theprecise boundary between BED and non-purging BN is far from clear. In addition,to meet criteria for BED, the binge episodes are associated with at leastthree of the following criteria: a) eating more rapidly than normal b) eatingwhen not physically hungry c) eating until uncomfortably full d) eatingalone because of shame and e) feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed orguilty after overeating . Finally,the individual experiences marked distress regarding binge eating. Althoughsome of these criteria date back to the DSM-III criteria for bulimia, nonehave been empirically validated for BED.
Treatment Harms And Factors Contributing To Treatment Efficacy
Throughout the BED treatment literature, the most commonly reported harmswere those associated with the side effects of second-generation antidepressants,such as sedation, dry mouth, headache, and sexual dysfunction/decreased libido. In the studies reviewed here,for example, compared to placebo, insomnia was more pronounced in those receivingfluvoxamine or sertraline, and constipation was more pronounced in those receivingsibutramine or imipramine. Other side effects, such as nausea, sweating andfatigue, dry mouth, blurred vision, and gastrointestinal upset, were alsoreported. Notably, 24% of individuals treated with desipramine and 20% ofindividuals treated with topiramate dropped out due to medication side effects.Harms associated with psychotherapy are not reported as frequently, but mayinclude increased mood dysregulation after cessation of active treatment,and should be monitored and given appropriate attention.
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Ready To Begin Your Journey
What sets Discovery apart is our primary objectiveto help change the symptoms of binge eating and provide insights into the root causes of the behaviors. We do that by providing a safe place for clients to heal the weight stigma theyve internalized. And, just as importantly, inspire clients to find their voice.
We know that every client is valuable and important. We think you should know it too.
Please call us at 866.482.3876. Together, we can begin your Path to Peace.
- Binge Eating Disorder: The Journey to Recovery and Beyond, 2018, by Amy Pershing and Chevese Turner.
- Overview and Statistics. . Retrieved February 06, 2018, from
Health At Every Size and HAES are registered trademarks of the Association for Size Diversity and Health and used with permission.
Is Binge Eating Disorder The Same As Overeating
Binge eating disorder is not exactly the same as overeating. Most people overeat on occasion and dont experience any major adverse effects. So which characteristics define binge eating disorder as an eating disorder?
Binge eating disorder is characterized by recurring episodes of binge eating during which a person feels a loss of control over their eating. Binge eating episodes are often driven by a need to soothe negative emotions. According to the DSM-5, to be diagnosed with binge eating disorder, three or more of the following criteria must be met:
Unlike bulimia, binge eating episodes are not followed by purging, excessive exercise, fasting or other compensatory behaviors. Binge eating disorder occurs more frequently in those living in larger bodies, but people of all body sizes can be diagnosed with binge eating disorder. Guilt, shame and/or distress about their eating behavior is common which can lead to more binge eating. So, even though the common misconceptions and comments involve overeating from time to time, occasional binges are not likely an eating disorder.
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