Emotional Eating, Binge Eating and Negative Body Image

With effective Eating Disorder Therapy it is possible to create a deeper connection to Self, your body, and your true needs and wants.  The result is a more peaceful relationship with food and an intuitive and balanced approach to eating. Treatment covers Emotional Eating, Binge Eating, Bulimia, and more. 

Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating are not about the food 

Effective Eating Disorder Treatment leads to a deeper connection with Self, with your body and with your true needs and wants.  It also leads to a more peaceful relationship with food and intuitive and balanced eating.

Emotional Eating comforts or numbs you with food. This often involves carbohydrates and results in disconnection from our distressing and uncomfortable feelings.  Tried and true, this reliable ‘friend’ requires nothing of us and enables us to “check out.”  Entertaining, celebrating and “treating yourself” with food are also signs that you may be an Emotional Eater.

Binge Eating is eating large amounts of food and feeling out of control.  If you eat compulsively, or secretly, your relationship with food is out of balance.  Eating when not hungry, eating rapidly, or eating to the point of discomfort can also be signs of Binge Eating.  Especially relevant are feelings of shame or guilt that follow a food binge. Often, women with Binge Eating Disorder compensate by later restricting, which, in turn triggers binging.  

Bulimia is a category of behaviors designed to expel food or calories from the body.  This includes self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse, diuretic abuse and over-exercising.  These behaviors can be an effort to avoid weight gain, facilitate weight loss or experience the physical and emotional release that often comes with purging.  Often, women with Binge Eating Disorder compensate for binging with one or more bulimic behaviors.

Disordered eating behaviors are attempts to reduce distress, calm the body, and disconnect from uncomfortable thoughts and emotions.  By eliminating “triggers,” we can eliminate the usefulness of disordered eating behaviors.  At the same time, we learn and practice new, healthy ways to calm ourselves.

Healing from Disordered Eating is possible.

Negative Body Image vs. Body Positivity 

Negative Body Image is based on the belief that our body does not conform to ‘acceptable’ standards.  It is fueled by our culture’s messaging that every ‘body’ must conform to today’s marketed image of ‘beauty.’  A focus on body, weight, physical shape, appearance and comparison to others are all typical symptoms of Negative Body Image.

Transient ‘fashion’ and marketing efforts sell us the idea that only certain body types and physical traits are currently ‘fashionable.’  From a feminist perspective, while women are occupying all their time, energy and money on conforming to male defined ideas of beauty, women are less available to spend time, energy and money in meaningful ways: oppression and control.  Body Positivity, Fat Positivity and Diversity & Inclusion campaigns such as Health at Every Size, National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance and NoLose are healthy resources to explore.  Before we can have a healthy mindset about our individual physicality, we need to resolve what keeps us from doing so.

As you likely know by now, it’s not about the food.

Binge Eating Disorder Treatment 

I provide online and in-person therapy for Disordered Eating, Emotional Eating, Binge Eating Disorder and Negative Body Image Issues using body-focused, somatic approaches.  Because Eating Disorders and Body Image struggles are symptoms of other issues, it is necessary to address and resolve these roadblocks before we can experience relief.

I look forward to helping you create a loving, compassionate relationship with your Self.