| Re: Does anyone binge w/o purging?
Kjane... theres a few of us who have the same issues here. And to be honest with you... Ive had episodes where I have eaten twice as much as what you listed there. I am also an exercise bulimic. Have you heard of that? Anyways, I came to the post looking for friends who were going thru the same thing as me and didnt find any until just recently when I found a post like yours... I will copy and paste to you what I replied to her post because it fits almost too perfect, (she has become a close posting buddy now and hopefully you will too!):
"I do not know how much you know on the subject... how long its been going on, etc. but it sounds like you may have an actual overeating disorder called BED (Binge Eating Disorder) or sometimes called COE (Compulsive Over-eating) . I battled with it a bit near the end of high school when my parents were close to splitting , but it sort of faded for awhile when I took up other bad habits. It got worse over the years until I went back and was actually diagnosed with the disorder about 1 year after the birth of my son. I have a lengthy history of disordered eating and can now look back and see times that foreshadowed it that I never even really thought about.
You say you feel so guilty that you do it, but thats one of the main aspects of BED, is impulsive eating, sometimes even accompanied by a sort of "detached" or "spacey" feeling where you feel you are almost on auto-pilot and your body is in a way, "eating without you". It differs from the binges involved in bulimia or anorexia in that, there are no compensatory behaviors performed after the binges to rid yourself of the food consumed. (i.e. - exercise or purging) Instead, (from my own experience), we normally just take a look at the empty boxes or bags and feel very disgusted/guilty...hate and curse ourselves... many times only leading to more binging in hopes of lifting our spirits from that guilt as well. It's a terrible cycle. For some people with BED, the binges sort of just meshed into one... called "graze" binging , where you eat pretty much over and over during the course of an entire day, sometimes dayS , even weeks... all the while feeling incredibly full uncomfortable and horribly out of control. From what I understand, BED/COE has only recently over the past 10 years or so, been more heavily researched and treated as far as eating disorders go, only above chewing/spitting which hasn't really received the attention and care that it really needs as of yet. But that doesn't mean that help and healing is not out there... many people fully recover... that is where I hope to be one day."
And, as you noted with your family and them not really understanding...THat is very common. Many people with BED will attempt to get help or support from their families, only to find that it is a misunderstood situation by many people in that there's sort of a "well, just have a little more self-control" or, "just dont eat it", mentality. But as you already probably know, its a compulsion. A disorder just like Bulimia or Anorexia, chewing/spitting, etc. Just the same as bulimia or anorexia, it is something that is out of control once it begins and has the power to consume you and all your actions and thoughts. If you have said before that you will not do it and "set your mind to it" and still have caved in, unfortunately it will probably take some help from a professional to recover completely
If you need somewhere to go and talk, this is a great place. To be honest ( but hopefully not brutally so)...the longer it carries on, the more weight you gain, the more complicated it gets and the longer it may take to heal. If you need someone to talk to, I have been and still am many times in your shoes and will be more than happy to give a few words of advice or support or even just a listening ear. I will def come back and check this post often to see what you have to say
Last edited by Rhadianze; 08-29-2004 at 12:05 AM.
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