by Lee Skavydis

Created on: February 22, 2011   Last Updated: February 23, 2011

Compulsive overeating is a common, but treatable issue among the public. Overeating has a number of causes, but most commonly it stems from emotional and mental issues. Boredom can also be another cause. Consuming white sugar rich foods, such as ice cream and cakes is pleasurable, and temporarily cures boredom for people. However, this can lead to trouble when binging on food starts to occur.

Having a family member or a friend to talk to about one's mental or emotional issue can be helpful, but it may be necessary to seek professional counseling. Binging on food because of an emotional issue normally numbs the mental pain that individuals feel when something psychologically affects them, but counseling will teach them to confront the problems they keep running away from, and deal with them. If depression is the cause then seeing a Cognitive Behavior therapist may be very helpful, as CBT is used to change one's attitude and way of thinking toward particular things that they would normally think and behave negatively toward. Exercising is a great way to rise the sertonin level in the brain. Serotonin is responsible for controlling mood, and low serotonin can potentially cause depression and feelings of self worthlessness. As well as raising serotonin levels, exercising can have weight loss benefits, which can help motivate to lose weight.

If boredom is the problem then it may be helpful to have a quiet word with one's self, and think about the current state of life. Perhaps it will be helpful to seek employment. Being employed will take up a great amount of time during the day, although getting a night job can also be equally helpful. It is important to find something that will occupy. Calling friends and arranging to hang out regularly should consistently elevate mood.

When going food shopping, simply not purchasing particular troublesome food items may be all that one needs to do. Staying away from the dessert and ice cream isle may be beneficial, and binging is impossible if ice cream, cakes and whatever else is absent from current food stock at home.

When the urge comes to compulsively eat then do something else at the time, such as painting, drawing, or anything else that is physical. Maybe even playing  a video game may do the trick, but it is important to divert one's attention from the call of going to the fridge to eat.

People do not normally compulsively eat for the sake of compulsively eating, there is almost always a reason for doing so, and it is important to get to the root cause. Only when a compulsive eater is being honest with themselves, will they start to make progress and some serious life changes!

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