What Is Compulsive Overeating Disorder

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Sandra Kim Leong

Sandra Kim Leong provides free research and special reports in her newsletter on Detox Diet.

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Compulsive overeating is an eating disorder. When you suffer from compulsive overeating, your addiction to food is extremely strong. You constantly crave for food and end up stuffing yourself way beyond what you need to consume to be full. One example is if you eat five burgers instead of one at every meal. You also feel extremely bloated after a meal.

Compulsive overeating is often confused with binge eating, which is a similar, but more serious eating disorder. Binge eating is also characterized by uncontrollable acts of overeating. What differentiates between compulsive overeating and binge eating is that there is a more emotional and psychological impact consequence attached to binge eating compared to compulsive overeating.

If you suffer from compulsive overeating, you generally feel joyful after a meal. You feel that your craving is satisfied although you may have exaggerated the amount that you ate. However, if you suffer from binge eating, instead of feeling happy and satisfied, you feel a sense of guilt, depression and disgust that you have not been able to control yourself with regards to the portions that you ate.

As depression is largely absent in the case of compulsive eating, it is considered less dangerous than binge eating, since it has a reduced chance of turning into bulimia. However, in many cases, compulsive eating can gradually turn into a binge eating disorder if you become affected emotionally and psychologically about your body shape and weight.

The causes for both forms of eating disorders are similar, however, Both are emotional or psychological in nature. Just like smoking, it is not the body that craves the cigarette, but the mind. In the case of compulsive overeating, you may eat because you are feeling stressed or depressed over some problems. The danger is when this habit turns into an addiction that you find that you have no control over.

When you find yourself getting addicted to food and unable to stop eating in large quantities, sit up and take note. Seek treatment if you suspect that you have a compulsive overeating eating disorder. Do not wait till it escalates to binge eating before you take action. By then, you will have a bigger problem to deal with and may take a longer recovery period.

For more information, please click here on eating disorders.