Food addiction is characterised by someone experiencing a loss of control over their eating habits, causing them to compulsively overeat certain foods even when they're not hungry or in need of nourishment.
Overeating is one of the biggest risks to health today and can often be an emotional response to negative thoughts.
When examining the features of food addiction, this condition appears to be very similar to binge eating disorder (BED), which is a form of eating disorder. However, it's important to recognise that there's a clear distinction between the two.
BED is a diagnosable and formally classified mental health condition, which often results from a combination of complex factors, including emotional, environmental, biological and psychosocial influences. Comparatively, food addiction develops because of the physical reaction that someone experiences after consuming certain foods, and as such, is more biochemical in nature than BED.
Everyone has a different relationship with food, and while cravings and indulgence is normal, there are some signs that you could be addicted to food.
Research into eating disorders has found that emotions, particularly negative ones, can increase food consumption. Those negative emotions, particularly related to attachment, such as emptiness and loneliness, need to be further explored for us to better understand overeating.
Given the nurturing properties of food in the caregiver relationship, one interpretation is that obese people turn to food as a representation of maternal soothing, with the sufferer having a sense of anxiety, loneliness and depression and an inability to self-soothe when experiencing these states.
If we delve deeper into overeating, we uncover a likeness with substance addiction. By using the existing information about causes of addiction, we can see some similarities.
Some of these similarities include:
These factors are thought to impact the level of tolerance people have to negative emotional states, resulting in compulsive quick fixes, such as addictive behaviours or overeating.
Without support for food addiction, it can result in a range of serious long-term physical and psychological problems which may include:
Our addiction specialists understand that seeking help for your food addiction can be overwhelming. That’s why our addiction experts offer a free initial addiction assessment, enabling you to discuss your food addiction in a safe, supportive and highly compassionate environment. The therapy that you'll receive during food addiction treatment at Priory, will typically consist of a combination of therapy types in order to address your unique addiction and facilitate recovery. Food addiction therapy may include:
Our team look at overeating beyond just the medical symptoms, and address the psyche of those who overeat, in a bid to focus on the root cause. I have done in-depth research into this area and the key factors that we, as healthcare professionals, should focus on in the treatment of overeating include:
Food addiction treatment and therapy at Priory is underpinned by the renowned 12-step philosophy, which is a well-known addiction treatment model, founded by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The 12-step model combines a person's food addiction with their spirituality and motivation to change, as a means of facilitating recovery.
