Disorders such as anorexia or bulimia are already common knowledge. We know that these are pathological eating behaviors, with an unhealthy approach to eating.
Anorexia, minimizing calorie intake
In the case of anorexia, a brutal control is exercised to minimize calorie intake, obeying an unjustified terror of obesity.
The individual perceives a distorted self-image, where he/she always looks and feels fat and unattractive, so that he/she is forced to watch the quantity and quality of what he/she eats. Often there is recourse to postprandial vomiting or increased physical exercise, use of laxatives and diuretics, until one finds oneself in a spiral of unhealthy weight loss, leading to avitaminosis and major metabolic and hormonal changes that, if not urgently treated, can lead to death by starvation.
Bulimia, uncontrolled eating and regret
Bulimia is characterized by uncontrolled eating. In a very short period of time an absurd amount of food can be eaten compulsively, especially carbohydrates such as pastries, pasta or potatoes, since this food group is associated with a calming, soothing or indulgent effect through an immediate rise in blood sugar. But binge eating is always accompanied by physical discomfort and a great sense of guilt and regret.
Then, to relieve and compensate for the emotional stress, the use of purgatives, laxatives or other mechanisms that help to get rid of the excessive calories ingested is also resorted to.
Binge-eating disorder, the most common disorder
But universal clinical experience shows that, among all types of eating disorders, the most frequent and the one that most occupies the attention of general practitioners as well as psychologists and psychiatrists is not either of the two previously mentioned, but binge eating disorder.
Symptoms of binge eating disorder
Binge eating disorder is also characterized by impulsive episodes of eating a lot and fast, but this is usually done in secret, due to the feeling of shame one experiences. After binge eating patients also suffer from physical discomfort, distress and depression, but it is not accompanied by the compensatory behaviors used in the other modalities.
Therefore, these people are gaining weight, tend to obesity, which always decreases self-esteem and leads to chronic concern about how their behavior leads to worsening depression. These are people who often decide to go on a diet. In public they often eat little or very restrictively and are often susceptible to many ups and downs, both in their weight and emotional management.
Psychological symptoms of binge eating disorder
Binge eating disorder in Western societies affects up to 3.5% of women, 2% of men and up to 1.6% of adolescents. It is generally associated with symptoms of depression, boredom, existential emptiness, anxiety, guilt or extreme shame.
Like many other psychiatric ailments, people suffering from this disorder also feel very stigmatized, so identifying it as a “new” disorder in the recent DSM-5 has helped its disclosure as a real illness, different from the person who simply likes to eat too much, and making everyone aware of it will make it easier for them to get the right treatment.
Treatment of binge eating disorder
The treatment of binge eating disorder should be carried out by a professional psychologist or psychiatrist, expert in eating disorders. Such treatment will include a good therapeutic relationship through a close and frequent psychotherapy that explores the causes or triggers of the abnormal behavior and evaluates the existence or not of other comorbidities such as depression or other disorders of impulsivity.
The type of psychotherapy to treat binge eating disorder is a mixture of several modalities, either cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal or active acceptance, depending on the individual patient’s profile.
Always, depending on the symptoms present, the need to add a psychotropic drug is assessed, serotonergic or dual-acting antidepressants, as well as anxiolytics can also be very useful for an effective and long-term treatment.