Written by: Olivia Shakespear, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The only way to recover from binge eating is to go right through the problem and out the other side. This means learning how to dismiss the urge to binge. If you've been a binge eater for many years, this might seem like an almost impossible task. In this article, I'm going to talk about the three stages of dismissing the urge to binge, breaking it down into manageable elements.
When I realized many years ago that the only way to overcome my disordered eating habits was to face them head-on, I found it slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I also realized I couldn't hide from the triggers for the rest of my life!
It seems like stating the obvious to say the only way to overcome binge eating is to just stop acting on the impulse to binge, but once I understood more about how the brain works, it actually felt like a relief. So here are the three stages of dismissing binge eating.
Stage One: Understanding the urge to binge is just faulty wiring in the brain
Whether it's reading books or magazines, or even going to therapy, we are often told that binge eating is a faulty coping mechanism and is linked to deeply held negative emotions or trauma. I'm not denying that people who have suffered trauma may also end up having disordered eating habits, or that life's stresses can be a trigger for overeating, but a lot of people who binge eat believe that the only way they'll solve their eating problems is through sorting out every other problem in their life first.
For many people, binge eating starts due to fairly innocuous reasons. Dieting and restrictive eating is a huge one, and I've spoken about this in a previous blog. For other people, it might just be that they grew up in a household where chaotic eating was the norm. Ultimately, when it comes to dismissing the urges to binge, it doesn't matter why it started. It's possible to spend many years dissecting all the possible reasons and yet be none the wiser as to why you keep bingeing.
Once you understand that the urge to binge comes about through faulty brain wiring built up over the years, you realize it is not a deep seated emotional problem that you have to solve. The urges come from the lower centers of the brain, which are focused on survival, avoidance of pain and pleasure seeking. Our rational brain is contained within the outer cortex, which is why it's hard to understand how we make such an irrational decision as to binge. Our rational brain understands this will lead to trouble, whereas the more primitive part of our brain only wants to end the nagging urge of our neurons firing and telling us to eat eat eat!
Stage Two: Changing how we react to the urge to binge
Common ways to react that are not helpful include:
Trying to work out the cause of the urge
Fighting it and engaging in some form of internal dialogue
Trying to make it go away
Feeling shame and guilt for it being there
The only way to react to the urge to binge is to view it as faulty wiring. Everything else just creates resistance to what is, and whatever we resist persists. The trick is to mentally check out of the situation as quickly as possible, detaching from any emotions that arise. When you do this, it starts to minimize all those uncomfortable feelings that come up with the urge to binge. You aren’t trying to change anything, but through detachment from your lower brain centers you are placing the control back into the rational part of the brain.
You'll probably have a little voice pop-up to tell you something like " oh yes, I understand how to solve this now, so maybe just one last time because tomorrow I'll be able to do this easily!" This is just more faulty wiring in the lower centers of the brain, trying to convince you that you are being rational. It holds no meaning, therefore you ignore it along with the original urge.
Stage Three: Stop acting on the urges to binge
Okay, this can sound a little annoying, but bear with me. If stages one and two become really ingrained, then stage three actually comes very naturally. But once you've dismissed the urge as faulty wiring and you haven't engaged in full on warfare with it, what do you do?
You could try observing your urges with detachment. Similar to meditation, where you practice sitting or lying in stillness and observing all thoughts and emotions that come up until they gradually subside. In fact, meditation is a really good thing for anyone with disordered eating.
Alternatively, you could find something else to do. Taking a walk, preferably in nature, although I know this is what was possible for people. Being close to nature has a very real impact on us, we become more peaceful and in this state you are unlikely to want to binge. I found that learning a language on a phone app helpful, as engaging the brain in a totally different cognitive activity pulled me right out of the urge. There are many things you could do, and it's a good idea to make a list of four or five go to alternative actions that you can take.
If you aren’t able to stop what you are doing, what you do is just keep going! Sounds too simple, but remember, you’ve dismissed the urge as neurological junk. After the first couple of times this gets easier and easier, as the brain loves to learn though positive reinforcement.
The above can seem a little disappointing for some, who may be looking for a magic bullet. But I promise that by going straight through the problem and facing the urges head-on, you rewire your brain so that it no longer takes you down the faulty paths. This is fantastic news as once the rewiring process has taken place, the urges no longer appear.
I work with clients to support them through this process, helping them understand the stages and really integrating them into their lives so that dismissing the urges becomes easy. It's also helpful to have a support system in place, such as a one to one coach, who you can contact as a form of alternative action when urges arise. For more on the programs I offer please have a look at my website.
Olivia Shakespear, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Olivia Shakespear is a Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist specialising in support for people with binge eating disorder and those who have an unhappy relationship with food. After many years of her own struggles, she created a unique method that is incredibly successful with moving people into a balanced way of eating. Olivia uses nutrition within a truly holistic framework, understanding that problems with eating occur due to multiple physical and psychological factors. She understands the pitfalls of applying a "clean eating" approach, whilst appreciating the incredible power proper nutrition has in healing the mind, body and soul.
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