The Deeper Root that Leads to Binge Eating
Binge eating disorder is NOT about the food you end up consuming.
Binge eating disorder is the end result or metaphor for an underlying mental, emotional, psychological and/or spiritual conflicts that are going on inside your life.
Our body’s response to these internal disputes, is to satisfy this dispute with a universal human need that is eating routines and quantity. These unmet needs are referred to as “gut hungers”.
To satisfy these unmet needs, some people may turn to alcohol, drugs, workaholism, exercise, restriction and diets, co-dependent relationships, spiritual life or healthy habits.
And when challenged with binge eating disorder, one may turn to several packs of TimTams, a bar of Cadbury chocolate, a tub of ice cream, a whole cake, eating a Nutella jar, a whole bread during the night with cheese to trying to full the `gut hunger`.
There are SEVEN vital needs or “gut hungers” that are rooted deep inside our gut, that have nothing to do with food.
They include the hunger or need for:
- Control: The need for safety, stability, security and consistency.
- Comfort: The need for pleasure, fun, excitement, joy, worryless and reduced stress.
- Growth: The need for variety, movement, development, and change..
- Independence/Freedom: The need to feel free, be heard, have an opinion and a voice that matters.
- Love & Connection: The need for closeness and warmth with someone or something.
- Purpose: The need for meaning and direction.
- Worth: The need to feel important, knowing you matter, belong and be accepted.
If any of these vital needs are not met, it may explain why we feel stressed, lonely, angry or sad and turn to food, diets or exercise, to fill this void of hunger.
Once we are tuned in with our “gut hunger”, we can respond consciously and therefore focus more on the very particular hunger that arises and satisfy them in the proper way.
For example, if your parent’s fought a lot when you were a kid and life feel out of control and not important, you might feel stuffing your feelings with fish and chips, or when you lose your job or break up with your boyfriend and if life feels out of control, or need for security and you might feel not deserving to be loved or not good enough may lead to a tub of ice cream or several Mars bars to satisfy this need.
Have you felt out of control? What are your triggers? I would love to hear from you. Please share with us your triggers by emailing me at nancy@teomahealth.com.au.
If you can relate to any of the above and want to explore further, please contact Nancy at nancy@teomahealth.com.au. There are many tools to help guide you to healthier human being, inside and out. Book in for a 15 min complementary breakthrough session and we can help you with what is getting in your way.