Binge Eating Disorder Compulsive Overeating: An OverviewThe psychological condition in which a person eats excessively or very frequently is called binge eating. With binge eating disorder compulsive overeating becomes a common phenomenon. This means that the affected person keeps on eating as if he is under compulsion to eat till a point of discomfort. To overeat some of the times is a very normal thing to happen to anybody. Normal overeating happens when the person feels the desire to eat. But in binge eating, the person eats as if he is duty bound to eat. Binge eating is quite different from a normal appetite increase or a spell of overeating at some times. People who have binge eating problems consume abnormally huge amounts of food regularly and repeatedly. Often, they eat rapidly, and don't stop the intake even after they become completely full.
Binge eating is much more than simply eating lots. With binge eating, and sometimes compulsive overeating, a person just loses control. A person feels powerless to stop consuming food while eating. That is why binge eating can also referred to as compulsive overeating. But there may be a slight variation between the two. The characteristic of compulsive overeating is a food addiction. The episodes of uncontrolled intake of food that these people indulge in are also called binging. During such a time, they might feel frenzied. They eat far more rapidly than normal. They continue eating even to the point of becoming uncomfortable. Unlike in bulimia, those with compulsive overeating usually don't try to make up for their overeating with such purging behaviors like use of laxatives, fasting, or even self-induced vomiting. They typically eat while they do not feel hungry. They also spend a long time and a lot of thought to food, and make secret plans or even fantasize about taking food alone. People with compulsive overeating, or binge eating problem might overeat at times when they are stressed, hurt, upset, or even when angry. Many sufferers find it soothing and comforting indulge in eating. However, after such a binge eating episode, they more often feel sad and guilty about it. Binge eating is usually a way of avoiding or dealing with difficult emotional changes. Besides binge eating, compulsive overeaters may also have grazing behavior. During such events, they come back to pick at food repeatedly through the day. This gives rise to a huge total calorie intake even though the amounts eaten may be small each time. When such a compulsive overeater binges, it can be said that it is definitely a binge eating disorder. But when there is no binging but only continuous overeating, then the condition is only compulsive overeating disorder and not binge eating disorder. Thus we see that even if similar in common usage to binge eating disorder compulsive overeating has a slight variation. Binge eating may imply compulsive overeating but it may not be true the other way round. With these facts, tackle this problem with positive confidence. |