By Mary Garrison
Tribune-Courier Reporter
mgarrison@tribunecourier.com

In this series, the Trib will delve into the world of eating disorders and tell how people suffering from them can find help locally. Names of subjects have been changed to protect anonymity.

Life-long binge eater struggles to overcome food addiction

Sophia steps off the scale with an audible sigh and promises that tomorrow she’ll do better.

It’s a promise she’s been making everyday for the last 15 years.

“I started putting on weight in high school,” Sophia recalled. “It’s such a tough time for kids, and looking back on it, I realize the stress of fitting in is what probably jump started my problem.”

And it is a problem, though many don’t realize it. Binge eating disorder has steadily been on the rise in the United States. Whereas anorexia affects some .12 percent of the population and bulimia 2 percent, some 5.5 percent of the public are at risk of developing a binge eating disorder. And unlike anorexia or bulimia, which take root more commonly in women, men are equally susceptible.

“It’s difficult to know for sure how many people suffer from binge eating disorder,” Dr. D’Arcy Lyness, child and adolescent psychologist and medical editor for Kids Health magazine, said in an online article. “Many victims are too embarrassed to seek help.”

Others, Lyness said, simply don’t understand that it is an actual disorder. However, studies conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health suggest that with an average life-span of more than 14 years, twice as long as that of anorexia or bulimia, the problem is chronic and psychological.

Binge disorder is very similar to the “binge and purge” characteristic of bulimia. However, there is no purge after the binge.

Those who suffer will go on mass eating sprees twice or more a week, eating beyond the point of fullness and feeling no control or ability to stop, though the desire to is there.

“People with a binge eating problem may overeat when they feel stressed, upset, hurt, or angry,” Lyness wrote. “Many find it comforting and soothing to eat, but after a binge they are likely to feel guilty and sad about the out-of-control eating. Binge eating is often a mixed-up way of dealing with or avoiding difficult emotions.”

Sophia agreed. “I’ve always been a stress eater,” she said. “Whenever I had too much going on or things were crazy in my life, it would get worse.

“I used to keep a box of snacks hidden in my closet,” Sophia said. “Twinkies, chips, cookies ... there were times I’d polish off nearly the whole box. I’d keep eating, even when I didn’t really want it. Just the physical act of eating felt good.”

Then, Sophia said, the guilt would set in.

“I’d lay awake at night and just cry. I hated myself and the way I looked. Mostly, I hated that I didn’t have the willpower to just stop.”

So, for a time, she would. Sophia often went on crash diets, using starvation tactics and excessive fluid intake to avoid feeling hungry.

“I used diet pills, too,” she said. “The stronger, the better. Sometimes, they’d work and I’d see results, but as soon as I stopped taking them, I’d put the weight right back on. I’d lose 50 pounds, then turn around and gain 60.”

At 32 years-old, Sophia has lost a grand total of 189 pounds at different intervals in her life.

This type of “yo-yo dieting” has spread throughout American culture and has some health care professionals concerned. According to the US National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity, studies suggest weight cycling carries risk of high cholesterol, gallbladder disease and high blood pressure.

“Repeated cycles of loss and gain take a psychological toll,” Lyness said. “Many dieters perceive each unsuccessful attempt to keep weight off as a personal failure. The result, over time, is erosion of self-esteem coupled with depression.”

For years, Sophia knew it well. With her weight spiralling out of control and her mood worsening for longer periods of time, she sought control through anti-depressants.

“I spent time on Zoloft, Lexapro and Paxil,” Sophia recalled. “I got to where I could sleep at night, but the overall side-effects on my body were agonizing.”

And she continued to gain weight. Standing at five-feet, six-inches tall, Sophia tipped the scales at 287 pounds.

According to Lyness’ article, binge eating disorder is not unlike alcoholism or drug addiction. However, as part of treatment for an alcoholic is to remove oneself from the substance, people don’t have that luxury with food, and the pattern can be much more difficult to break.

“It had gotten so bad, I didn’t have the energy to walk up a flight of stairs without being completely winded,” Sophia said.

“When I started having chest pains, I realized that I had to do something or I was going to die.”

Sophia took the first initiative in speaking to her family physician.

“He was the first to tell me he thought I might have an eating disorder,” Sophia said. “We mapped out a healthy eating regimen and decided that it was in my best interests to forego using prescription medicine to lose weight. I tend to rely solely on the medicine, and I didn’t want that to happen this time.”

Sophia’s doctor also suggested she start seeing a psychologist to learn healthier ways of dealing with complex emotions and developing a healthy relationship with food.

“It’s been the best course of action for me, I think. I’m not where I need to be by a longshot, but I’m getting there,” Sophia said. “I realize now that there’s no quick fix to make the problem go away, and that, in itself, has been helpful.”

Recognizing the symptoms is an important step in the road to recovery, as well, she explained.

Now at a much healthier 225 pounds, Sophia knows that the road ahead of her is still long, but there is hope to reach the end of that road.

“It’s important to surround yourself with supportive people,” Sophia said. “My family and friends have been wonderful. They stay positive even when I don’t feel like I can. I know I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”

Eating much more rapidly than normal, eating until uncomfortably full, consuming large amounts of food even when not hungry, eating alone because of embarrassment, feeling disgusted, depressed or guilty after a binge eating episode and gaining weight excessively are all warning signs that you or a loved one may be suffering from binge/compulsive eating disorder.