Many times eating habbits are associated with serotonin levels and depression. Some people eat too much because they perpetually have low serotonin levels and others eat too much due to being depressed.
For the most part I have cut sugar and junk food out of my diet, but last night I felt like complete garbage and ate about as unhealthy as I have in over a month.
No one knows for sure what causes binge eating disorder. As many as half of all people with binge eating disorder are depressed or have been depressed in the past. Whether depression causes binge eating disorder or whether binge eating disorder causes depression is not known.
It is also unclear if dieting and binge eating are related. Some people binge eat after dieting. Dieting here means skipping meals, not eating enough food each day, or avoiding certain kinds of food. These are unhealthy ways to try to change your body shape and weight.
Studies suggest that people with binge eating may have trouble handling some of their emotions. Many people who are binge eaters say that being angry, sad, bored, worried, or stressed can cause them to binge eat.
Certain behaviors and emotional problems are more common in people with binge eating disorder. These include abusing alcohol, acting quickly without thinking (impulsive behavior), not feeling in charge of themselves, not feeling a part of their communities, and not noticing and talking about their feelings. source: Weight Control Information Network
Whether or not I would be classified as a binge eater, I still overeat to destructive levels from time to time. To me it is not important whether or not I am labeled as a healthy eater or a binge eater, what is important is that I eat in a manner that satisfies me and is healthy.
If you occassionally eat too much, then you don't need others to throw labels on you own self destructive habbits to know they are no good for you.
The biggest things associated with my overeating are:
- being depresssed
- being isolated from other people
- not exercising
- not seeing the sun
- not eating vitamins
- not listening to music or seeing / hearing / feeling any artwork
- not sleeping regularly
- skipping meals (usually caused by not having healthy food around and then going somewhere to buy a bunch of junk food to pig out on)
It is totally natural to be somewhat depressed from time to time, and I don't think I would appreciate the ups as much if there were not the downs. Having said that, many times people eat too much looking for a boost or a high, in the same way many drug addicts use drugs for a boost or a high.
To lessen the addiction, or depression based self destructive behavior, the best thing to do is try to work on making it easy to avoid the appeal of the self destructive behavior (such as overeating) is to do things that raise your baseline level.
Things that help minimize your (or at least my) self destructive binge eating behaviors:
- accept that sometimes you will be depressed. If you feel that you are too depressed have some fun activities set aside to do when you are depressed. What I do might not fit perfectly for you, but I like going for a ride and listening to music, or watching Cosmos by Carl Sagan.
- Cosmos helps remind me just how unimportant I am in the grand scheme of things, and how lucky I am to be alive in my current situation.
- Cosmos helps remind me how overly focused on the short term I am.
- Cosmos makes me appreciate life much more and helps me look for things I am passionate about.
- Find ways to interact with people. This for me is sometimes a bit easier to write than to do, but if you are extroverted it is probably not that hard to call up a friend.
- Depending on what type of shape you are in go for a walk or a jog. This is especially cool at night time when the sky is clear and lots of stars are out.
- Make sure you find a way to see the sun at least a little each day. This helps you produce serotonin, and makes you key happy in the summer. Has less effect in the winter, but with all of the other depressing things associated with that season (bitter cold, etc.) it is even more important to try to get some sunlight.
- Eating vitamins and eating healthy is key. I eat multivitamins, vitamin B comlex, vitamin C, vitamin E, Ginko Biobla (don't eat Ginko that the morning after having lots of caffiene or other vasocontrictors or you may get a headache from it expanding the blood vessels in your head), Ginseng, and 5-HTP (a precursor to serotonin, but this is not for everyone - especially if you are on a prescrition antidepressant / SSRI such as Luvox, Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, Celexa, etc.).
- View or hear whatever sort of artwork makes you happy.
- Make sure you sleep as regularly and good as possible. Many times we try to make up for the energy restoration sleep would give by eating a bunch of high carb sugary foods.
- Make it easy to eat many small healthy snacks throughout the day. This will help keep your blood sugar level more even and prevent you from having such a sugar low and desire to eat sugar rich foods.
Well this post was longer than intended, but the whole point is keep your baseline level higher by making it easy to do things that make you feel happy or good and you will be less likely to do self destructive things like binge eating.
Headed for the gym, as he quickly goes off to practice what he preaches...
