Overeating Causes
The causes of compulsive overeating are often psychological. The emotional associations to an apparent physical problem is ever-present with Compulsive Overeating Disorder.
A person may have distorted perceptions of their body image in tandem with low self-esteem, depression, and feelings of shame and guilt. Compulsive overeating disorder is often triggered by some void or a stressful incident or durations in childhood or teen years.. This void is filled or stress, depression, anxiety is masked with food. Food often serves as a substitution for love, attention, or the fix necessary to contain the anxiety, depression and other intense troubled feelings.
How Much Is Too Much?
Compulsive overeaters consume on average 5,000 calories per day and can exceed even 60,000 calories per day!!! The result of such an overconsumption of calories is an addictive “high” such as experienced through drug use. The “high” will often provide a release from psychological stress and tension. Some research has suggested that a person with such an eating disorders have abnormally intense cravings for high carbohydrate “comfort foods” during binges. The ingestion of these foods, especially in massive quantities, causes the release of a neurotransmitter called: serotonin. This biological process may contribute to the person not employing normal self-discretion, even when feeling content or “full”, resulting in the above referred to massive overconsumption of calories per day.
All these causes of compulsive overeating are serioes and treatment should be sought out.
Eating Disorder Self Test. Take the EAT-26 self test to see if you might have eating disorder symptoms that might require professional evaluation. All answers are confidential.