Food addiction is a real diagnosis. How to recognize it and what to do

What should you do if you are constantly overeating? How to stop being addicted to food?

Food addiction, or food addiction, exists and is manifested by two main diagnoses: compulsive overeating and bulimia.

A person with food addiction does not perceive food as a physiological need and does not eat to satisfy hunger. Food becomes a source of inspiration, antidepressant, entertainment. Eating disorders are dangerous to health and can lead to serious illnesses, including obesity, anorexia, heart disease and vascular disease.

• Serious emotional distress;
• use or restriction of food to achieve various goals (a child wants to get praise or not to offend his mother and grandmother, a girl dreams of getting the figure from the picture).

What are the signs of food addiction

A person with bulimia or compulsive overeating experiences bouts of “wolf” hunger. In such cases, they eat until nausea, filling the stomach to the brim, and after scourging themselves for another overeating. In bulimia nervosa after bouts of gluttony often try to compensate for the breakdown – for example, to provoke vomiting.

If in compulsive overeating a person gains weight very quickly, in bulimia this danger is less. But the risk of causing malfunctions in the gastrointestinal tract is much higher. Metabolism, stomach acidity, intestinal microflora, teeth, skin, hair deteriorates, the risk of injury to the esophagus and oral cavity increases.

Food addiction increases the risk of various diseases and can aggravate the psychological state – lead to social isolation and long-term depression.

Food addiction develops gradually and has a number of symptoms.

No appetite control

There is no sense of satiety and instinctive hunger does not work. Food becomes a symbol of problem solving and soothing rather than a way of satisfying a biological need.

There are a number of “addictive foods”

These are those foods that you can’t survive a day without. Most often these are foods with a high glycemic index and high calorie content: sweets, baked goods, fatty and fried foods. People with addiction have special stocks of such foods in case of an attack.

There are always reasons for a breakdown

The reason for overeating can be both negative and positive moments: a quarrel with relatives, a promotion at work, a day off and even a promise “from tomorrow to diet”.

Remorse and guilt

After a bout of overeating, addicts feel guilt and shame, they are haunted by the thought of how to get rid of food addiction.

Eating in secret

People are more likely to eat alone, hide candy and eat it when they are home alone. In society, on the other hand, a person with an addiction may be on a diet, but when they get home, they may be devouring cakes.

All thoughts are about food

A food addict thinks about food all the time: what to cook and from what products, what he will eat for lunch and what to snack on.

There is no fear of losing health

People realize the danger of addiction, notice problems with health and weight, deterioration of appearance and emotional state, but do not refuse an extra piece of cake.

What to do.

Few people with food addiction can cope with this problem on their own. The rest need the help of a psychotherapist and a nutritionist. Anorexia is considered a particularly difficult case of food behavior addiction, which can be fatal due to exhaustion.

If you have noticed signs of an eating disorder in yourself or your loved ones, do not waste time – seek professional help.

Food addiction must be dealt with in order to stay healthy. At the first stage of recovery, you need to recognize the problem, reduce stress levels, find a hobby so that you don’t fill your free time with pizza and cookies.

Enlist the help of specialists: a psychologist, a nutritionist or a nutritionist. They will help you to make a complete diet and fill deficiencies, revitalize your receptors and restore the work of body signals.