What are the signs and symptoms of binge eating disorder?
Binge eating disorder (BED) is a severe eating disorder that can have a hugely detrimental impact on an individual’s psychological and physical wellbeing, as well as causing a range of long-term problems. In addition, BED is a highly secretive disorder, with many sufferers feeling too embarrassed and ashamed to binge eat in front of other people. This means that BED may go unnoticed, undiagnosed and untreated for a long period of time.
The signs and symptoms of BED can be categorised into psychological, physical and behavioural/social symptoms.
Psychological symptoms of binge eating:
- Spending a lot of time thinking about and planning when you can have your next bingeing episode
- Feeling as though no amount of food will be able to satisfy you
- An overwhelming feeling of guilt, shame and self-disgust after binge eating
- Having a distorted and overly negative body image
- Fear or embarrassment about eating fatty, sugary or other unhealthy foods in front of other people
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Stress
- Anger, irritability and impatience – finding that you get angry for no reason and taking this out on other people
- Extremely low self-esteem
- Exacerbation of any existing mental health problems such as anxiety, depression or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
Physical symptoms of BED:
- Gaining weight as a result of your excessive eating habits
- Lack of fitness and general ill health as a result of eating so much unhealthy food
- Poor skin and hair due to lack of nutrients
- Muscle aches and cramps
- Constipation
- Bloating
- Sleep disturbances, including
- insomnia
- Tiredness and fatigue
Behavioural/social symptoms of binge eating:
- Eating a huge amount of food in one sitting, even when you are not hungry
- Bingeing on foods that you feel guilty about eating, such as those that have high amounts of saturated fat, sugar and salt
- Eating lots of junk food such as crisps, chocolate and sweets
- Feeling as though you experience a complete loss of control during your bingeing episodes, and eating in a frenzied and frantic manner
- Binge eating until the point of physical pain, and not recognising the signs that you should stop eating
- Binge eating alone or in secret
- Chaotic eating habits e.g. not eating all day and then binge eating at night
- Buying lots of food
- Hoarding food and hiding empty food packets
- Denying that you have a problem, both to yourself and others
- Social withdrawal and isolation – not wanting to meet with family and friends, in order to avoid answering any questions that they might ask about your eating habits
What are the long-term effects of BED?
Without expert help, BED can result in a number of negative and enduring consequences, including:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Heart disease
- An increased risk of developing certain forms of cancer
- Infertility
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Joint and back pain
- Osteoarthritis
- Strained or ruined relationships
- Family breakdowns
- Poor work performance
- Financial difficulties due to the amount of money that is spent on food
- Drug and alcohol addiction, as a means of helping you to cope with difficult emotions or physical complications
- Suicidal thoughts/behaviours
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