New Class: Healing Binge Eating

What do you think the most shame-inducing eating habit is?

Overeating? Mindless grazing? Eating out too much?

Sure. Annoying. Maybe unwanted.

But no. Not those.

It's binge eating.

Why?

Generally those that binge eat, report feeling out-of-control (which tends to feel very disempowering!) Feeling out-of-control can take a significant physical/psychological/emotional toll on a person.

What exactly constitutes a "binge?"

People that experience binge eating often report they feel like they get "tunnel vision," and are gripped by a powerful impulse to eat, only to be left with a wash of shame or regret and some (or several) empty containers of food. The amount of food and the content of that food is the distressing part. This is often all followed by a hope or a vow to never do it again.

More accurately, it is the intensity behind the impulse to eat, the sense of urgency and powerlessness, regardless of the exact amount of food, that prompts a person to say with exasperation, "I binged."

In a culture that values living your "best life" there's not much place for painful eating habits. But neglecting our most unwanted eating habits is severing off an integral part of who we are and what's on the move inside of us.

As odd as it might sound, binge eating is always correct. Meaning it always happens for a brilliant and well-meaning reason. Our work is to shed light on those reasons so we can meet our real, legitimate needs (whether physical, emotional, spiritual, or a combination of these) and bring some dignity back to the soulful process of healing and empowering our eating.

Binge eating can be an incredible teacher this way.

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