At Fairwinds, our highly skilled and trained team of professionals helps individuals struggling with addiction, eating disorders and mental health disorders address their issues at the root cause so they can recover and get back to their lives. Because addiction and mental health conditions often occur together, we use a dual-diagnosis approach to treatment, to help individuals overcome these issues and experience a lasting recovery.
While anorexia and bulimia may be the most well-known eating disorders, there are others that are worth being aware of so you can spot the signs of a potential problem before it gets worse. Compulsive Eating disorder is another eating-related condition that may require treatment to recover from.
What is compulsive eating?
Although it may bear some binge-eating similarities to bulimia, those with bulimia purge afterwards while those with a compulsive eating disorder do not. This condition has ties to obsessive compulsive disorder in defining the individual’s relationship to food. Compulsive eating is more than just occasionally overeating. Individuals suffering from this disorder may be using food as a means of coping with their emotions.
Various factors may contribute to this disorder, ranging from biological ones, like hormonal irregularities, to social pressures of looking a certain way. Individuals who are unhappy with the way they look may engage in this behavior. Consequently, compulsive eating is often associated with low self-esteem.
Loss of control
A person with a compulsive eating disorder cannot stop eating, even after he or she is completely full. Over a period of time, they will consume substantially more food than a person without the disorder would within that same time frame. Although the person engaging in this behavior may feel ashamed or embarrassed about it, the urge to continue eating this way is overwhelming, and they feel powerless to stop.
This leads the individual to feel a loss of control because they cannot contain their own behavior. In addition to causing feelings of guilt or shame, this disorder also has negative physical impacts on the body and can cause weight gain that may lead to obesity, although this outcome is not inevitable. However, the physical effects of frequently eating too much can also lead to harmful conditions such as high cholesterol, arthritis, hypertension, kidney disease and stroke, among others. It is common for individuals with this disorder to also experience depression and anxiety.
Seeking treatment for compulsive eating
One of the most significant factors in a successful recovery is to uncover the triggers that led to the behavior in the first place. This is where dual diagnosis comes in. Eating disorders and addiction rarely occur on their own without some kind of influence from other factors occurring at the same time. It is through uncovering those factors that the root problem is discovered, and the condition can be effectively treated.
Fairwinds Treatment Center features a highly trained and skilled team of psychiatrists, doctors and nurses including internationally accredited and renowned Dr. Pauline Powers. Our dedicated staff work together to provide you or your loved one with emotional and psychological support while undergoing an individualized treatment plan. Founded in 1989 by Dr. M. K. (Khal) El-Yousef, Fairwinds treatment centers in Florida use a dual diagnosis approach to treatment to identify the triggers responsible for the problem. With the proper care and support, individuals suffering from eating disorders and addiction can experience a lasting recovery.
