The technique known as ‘mindfulness’ is being taught to Australian women to help them understand and deal with the emotions that trigger their binges.
Unlike many therapies for eating disorders, there is less focus on food and controlling eating and more on providing freedom from negative thoughts and emotions.
Griffith University psychologists Michelle Hanisch and Angela Morgan said women who binged were often high-achievers and perfectionists.
When such women perceived they didn’t measure up to self-imposed standards or were not in control of situations, they indulged in secretive eating binges. A typical late-night binge could involve four litres of icecream and a couple of packets of chocolate biscuits, Ms Hanisch said.
“Many women develop elaborate methods of hiding the evidence of their binges and some feel so guilty afterwards they also induce vomiting, overuse laxatives or exercise excessively to counteract the effects of the binge,” she said.
“Binge eating is largely a distraction – a temporary escape from events and emotions that nevertheless can cause long-term physical problems including electrolyte imbalances. Instead, women need to learn how to react in a different way.”
Mindfulness involves exercises similar to meditation that could help people live more in the moment, develop a healthy acceptance of self and become aware of potentially destructive habitual responses.
“Women who have been through the program report less dissatisfaction with their bodies, increased self-esteem and improved personal relationships,” Ms Morgan said.
“They learn that thoughts and emotions don’t have any power over us as they are just passing phenomena and aren’t permanent.”
Mindfulness has already been shown to be effective as a treatment for anxiety and depression, substance abuse, and the stress associated with physical conditions such as trauma, chronic pain or cancer.
Source: Research Australia
Related News Articles
- Analyze Hair for Eating Disorders
- Gay Men Have More Eating Disorders
- Expand Diagnostic Criteria for Eating Disorders
- Binge Eating Is Top Eating Disorder
- Pregnancy and Binging
- An Introduction to Binge Eating
- Gaining: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders
- Overeating vs. Binge Eating
- What Is Binge Eating Disorder?
- Coping With Denial in Eating Disorders
