Binge eating, which is characterized by compulsive overeating, is somehow a natural impulse. In the pre-historic days, humans would gorge on any food available to them, as often, food was scarce.
Now that food is available aplenty and in a lot of variety, binging has become a way to recompense for emotional upheavals, thus leading to a number of health issues, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal problems, sleep apnea and even certain types of cancer!
So, the moment you feel that you are overeating for any reason, make sure that you take steps to check the habit immediately.
To verify if you have developed ‘food addiction’, you can look for the signs of compulsive overeating. Some of them include:
- Eating frenziedly, even when you are not physically hungry.
- Having your foods at a faster pace than normal.
- Eating alone (you might feel embarrassed while eating with others).
- Feeling guilty due to overeating.
- Rapid weight gain.
- Failure to pursue any diet plan.
- Urge to eat greater amounts of foods.
Now, moving on to the more important question…
Where does Binging stem from?
Overeating can occur due to a number of reasons. You might feel the urge to overeat when you are dispirited, or indulge it as an attempt to forget about your personal troubles.
According to psychologists, over eating is a subconscious action. Often, people, under specific situations seem to ‘eat in a trance’ without being aware of what they are eating, or how much they are eating.
And this is why hypnosis can help you to control your over eating to a great extent.
How can hypnosis help you to overcome over eating?
According to psychologists, our unconscious mind is extremely powerful, and it often propels us to indulge in self-destructive activities like overeating. Through hypnosis, you can tap into the power of the unconscious mind. This will help you to make healthy food choices and develop better food habits as opposed to eating in a trance.
You might need some professional help to overcome binging. Hence, instead of trying it at home on your own, you might want to get some professional help to get started.
What can you expect in a typical Hypnotherapy Session?
While treating you with hypnosis, the practitioner can also ask you questions like:
- “When do the cravings occur? And at which time of day?”
- “How frequently do you binge?”
- “Could you prepare a list of foods you tend to binge on?”
- “Are there specific situations that compel you to binge?”
How do these questions help in the treatment?
Answering the questions can help you become more ‘aware’ of your binge eating. As you answer the questions of the hypnotherapist, the latter establishes your eating pattern, thereby suggesting ways to break those patterns. For example, if the practitioner finds that you tend to binge every night after returning from work, he can create a list of alternatives that you can keep your mind busy with, instead of allowing it seek relief from binging. Some people like to catch up a movie, or chat with friends, while others might like to hit the gym and sweat it out, or simply indulge in a hot sauna bath.
Binge eating is, an unconscious response; almost a Pavlovian response to be precise. While people often feel helpless when plagued by their binging problem, and end up feeling that they just don’t have a choice but to live with it, awareness and a little nudge in the right direction can help them break the barrier. And when it comes to developing self-awareness, very few things can perhaps work better than hypnosis.
