When food becomes more than physical nourishment, you have a problem...

I'm not saying that the occasional bowl of icecream means you have B.E.D..

This is what www.helpguide.org says:
(the symptoms in italics are the ones that I've experienced)

Behavioral symptoms of binge eating and compulsive overeating

• Inability to stop eating or control what you're eating


• Rapidly eating large amounts of food


• Eating even when you're full


• Hiding or stockpiling food to eat later in secret


• Eating normally around others, but gorging when you're alone


• Eating continuously throughout the day, with no planned mealtimes

Emotional symptoms of binge eating and compulsive overeating

• Feeling tension that is only relieved by eating


• Embarrassment over how much you're eating


• Feeling numb while bingeing-like you're not really there or you're on auto-pilot.


• Never feeling satisfied, no matter how much you eat


• Feeling guilty, disgusted, or depressed after overeating<


• Desperation to control weight and eating habits

It can literally feel like a ball and chain. Like you're trapped with no way out!

Some say "yes", that emotional eating is an addiction, and others say "no". But quite frankly; either way it doesn't much matter.

Either way people are dealing with emotional eating every day.

As a stay at home mom, food has become my crutch to buffer the reality of motherhood. If I feel stressed or overwhelmed I turn to food for that quick fix and comfort.

It has been bad enough at times that I'm already thinking about what I'm going to eat next after I've just eaten a full meal.

Or when I'm having a bad day with kids, I'll crack open a bag of chocolate chips and keep going to the cupboard for handfuls during the day. Before I realize it, I've consumed a full days worth of calories!

I'm almost never hungry because I snack all day, and I have full meals too!

Binge eating is very real! Although I have struggled in the past and do still struggle, things are getting better!

Why am I admitting this? I want others to know that you are not alone in this! Just keep moving forward, and reach out for help.

Emotional eating doesn't have to occupy all of your time. You have a life to live, so go on and live it!

You're not going to wake up one morning and be "healed". It is a process of re-learning how to eat and deal with emotions.

It becomes a series of baby steps, until finally you are free from emotional eating!!

Here is a Lens to show you how: Best.EmotionalEatingSolutions.Ever.com