So I was watching something today, and I saw a listing for a mental disorder called B.E.D, Binge Eating Disorder. They featured people who were sharing their stories about how they could not control the desire to eat.
I binge eat, it has made me fat, and I know this. However, I have a hard time accepting this as a mental disorder. My background in the military, and in training, and life in general makes me a firm believer in dedication and discipline overcoming everything. However, if I can accept anorexia, and bulimia as mental disorders, why not B.E.D? Perhaps it is because I am very hard on myself, and refuse to accept what I perceive as weakness.
In today’s society, I have found that the medical community tries to medicate us for everything. That’s not to say that this isn’t a proper disorder as there is plenty of evidence to back the claims. However, I don’t always trust the medical community. I have always opted to try and do things without medication.
Even when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, and ended up in the hospital, I didn’t want to become a slave to those pills. I tried to do it with diet and exercise, but I had to accept that I needed the medication.
Would you be willing to ingest pills into your body, without knowing what they can really do to you? I try my best to avoid it, but as is evident by my blood pressure situation, sometimes it is necessary. Perhaps this is also the case for binge eating disorder?
What do you guys think about Binge eating disorder? Personally I am very skeptical, and I must be honest and say that I have a difficult time in accepting this as a mental illness. Hell, what do I know though. I have done reading on the topic, but not enough to consider myself an expert.
Just a life long New Yorker sharing the journey through my lens. Please take note of a post’s date. The views I express here are subject to change and evolving as I grow and learn.
I’m severely disappointed in this article. It’s one thing to hear about something and not agree with it yes, but could you not have done some research? “Bingeing” or “binge eating” CAN be done by anyone, yes. BED is something completely different. Did you know that there are plenty of sufferers who are not actually overweight? Did you know that sometimes people with BED will eat foods they don’t even like, or eat things other people threw away because they CANNOT stop themselves. Because it’s a compulsion. Now, in your “bingeing” that has led to you being “fat”, do you eat to the point where you want to puke, but keep eating because you feel you have to? Do you then end up throwing up, not on purpose, but because you ate too much, and then continuing to eat? Do you eat things simply because you know they’re in your cupboards? Do you find yourself unable to stop yourself from stealing your roommate’s food, or food from other people’s houses despite the fact that you hate yourself for it?
Probably not. Because if you did, you would understand the idea of it being a mental illness.
But go ahead. Spread the doubt and keep sufferers in the dark, scared to seek help because they’ll just be told that they are lazy and gross.
You are right. I wrote this initially from a bad place. I will rewrite to present my questions better.
Also, BED isn’t treated with medication. It’s treated with therapy. So if that helps ease your mind a bit… 🙂
I agree that there is a lot more to an eating disorder than what meets the eye. Having suffered from clinical anorexia for a time in my life, I understand the importance of not only receiving therapy and/or life plans to get back on track, but also in educating yourself and others about the triggers. I definitely do not believe in attacking people for their lack of understanding about an eating disorder – that is very unkind and doesn’t solve anything.
That said, Angel I am glad you are learning more about your challenges with food. Binging can definitely cause weight gain if your metabolism is off. Just as purging can cause long term problems to your stomach, throat, teeth, etc from acid and forcing your body to do things that aren’t natural. It’s all about identifying your issues, getting to the root of them, and working out a new plan to have a healthier relationship with food along the way.
Except for what I’ve learned in school, I don’t know much about eating disorders. I’ve always heard that the first step is recognizing you have a problem. You’re making progress. Thanks for sharing such a personal story.