There are a number of obstacles that can stop people who have binge eating disorders from having their condition treated with counselling. Read on to find out what these obstacles are and how these individuals can overcome them.
Feeling ashamed of their eating habits
Instead of acknowledging that they have an eating disorder and asking a counsellor who offers binge eating disorder treatment to help them, people with this condition often incorrectly label themselves as 'greedy' or 'undisciplined' and feel deeply ashamed of the way in which they eat and the large amounts of food that they consume. They then endure the suffering that comes with living with this untreated psychological condition, because they feel so embarrassed about their supposed lack of willpower when it comes to eating.
In reality, this condition does not have anything to do with greediness or a person's ability to discipline themselves. It is a debilitating and serious psychological disorder which, much like anorexia and bulimia, is often the result of traumatic past experiences and low self-esteem.
Anyone who has this disorder and who is putting off going to counselling because they feel ashamed of themselves should take the following two steps. Firstly, they should acknowledge that they have a medically recognised eating disorder. Speaking to their GP and getting a formal diagnosis may help them to accept that they have this condition, which should, in turn, enable them to stop inaccurately labelling themselves as greedy and feeling ashamed of themselves.
Secondly, they should locate a counsellor that has experience with treating binge eating disorders. A counsellor with this type of background will have in-depth knowledge about this specific disorder that will enable them to reassure and support the patient in such a way that they can move beyond feeling ashamed and begin to heal the psychological wounds that caused the disorder in the first place.
Minimising the impact that their eating disorder is having on their life
People with this disorder often minimise the negative impact that it has on their life and then, as a result of this, decide against having counselling to treat this condition.
For example, they may ignore the pain in their joints that is caused by their binging-related weight gain, dismiss the symptoms that indicate that they might be pre-diabetic (such as extreme thirst and fatigue) and convince themselves that the excessive money they are spending on food is not affecting their finances too much.
If a person who regularly binge eats has finally managed to acknowledge that they have this eating disorder but is still hesitant to seek counselling, they should sit down and write a long list of all of the physical, emotional, social and financial issues that their binge eating is causing. Reading through this list and perhaps even sharing it with someone they trust could help them to fully accept that this is a serious issue that requires the help of a professional counsellor.
For more information, call a binge eating disorder therapist.
Share15 July 2019
My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for nearly a decade. It has been really hard to deal with the stress and guilt of the process, including grieving the babies that we have lost through miscarriages. We have both gone through periods of feeling guilty and responsible for the problems we have had conceiving; although, the doctors have never been able to work out exactly why we haven't been able to have a baby. Counselling has helped us to deal with our grief and has helped us to draw closer through this hard time rather than growing apart.
