Search results
Apr 4, 2017 · It makes it very hard to have my spouses/friends/family help me when all I do is ask to be left alone.”. — Miranda E. 24. “Eating nothing but cereal. I don’t have the energy to make anything else. And when I do eat something with actual substance, I binge on it.”. — Jamie H. 25. “Sugar, sugar, sugar…”.
- Bad Habits
1. Eating Food That Doesn’t Make You Feel Good “On days when...
- Depression
Depression is a beast. It’s an illness so insidious...
- Insomnia
They ignored my calls and emails for years, and when my...
- Trichotillomania
Hi everyone! My name is Lisa! I have...
- Bad Habits
May 10, 2018 · Eating too many sugary foods or high-fat foods can be super addictive; according to a study published in the Nature Neuroscience, eating such foods can trigger the release of dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter in the brain. So, the more such foods you eat, brain starts getting addicted to them, making you crave for more.
- Using Food for Comfort. “People with depression often use food to self-medicate,” says Jean Fain, LICSW, MSW, a licensed psychotherapist in Concord, Mass., and author of The Self-Compassion Diet: A Step-by-Step Program to Lose Weight with Loving-Kindness.
- Eating Too Little. Many people find their appetite decreases when they’re feeling low. In some cases, they end up unintentionally losing weight. “They have less desire for food and they start skipping meals – often, they’re sleeping through meals,” says Marjorie Nolan, MS, RD, a registered dietitian in New York and a national spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
- Eating Whatever Is Easily Available. Shopping for and preparing healthy meals can seem daunting when you’re depressed and lacking energy. As a result, you may reach for foods that are convenient but that aren’t particularly nutritious and you may not get enough variety in your diet.
Apr 24, 2023 · consuming more food than usual in a short period of time. weight gain. loss of control over eating, which may lead to guilt, shame, and depression. poor self-esteem. Binge eating is related to ...
- Marissa Moore
- Overview
- Is there a link between depression and overeating?
- Symptoms of depressive overeating
- How do you stop depressive overeating?
Overview
Recent research has found a strong correlation between depression and overeating, particularly when overeating becomes binge eating. Keep reading to learn more.
A 2012 study has shown why both stress and eating poorly are linked to an increased risk for anxiety and depression. The effects of a high-fat diet overlap with the effects of chronic stress that are known to play a hand in causing depression. This may explain why overeating — particularly the high-fat, low-nutrient foods people are more prone to binge eat — can lead to depression.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, people with obesity who have binge eating disorders typically struggle with some sort of mental health illness, including anxiety or depression.
Both conditions have the ability to cause the other: If overeating leads to weight gain and an inability to control binge eating, depression may follow. Depression itself may also trigger overeating as a coping mechanism.
Learn more about causes and risk factors for eating disorders »
One of the biggest symptoms of depressive overeating is to compulsively eat more than you need to while never quite feeling satisfied. This is especially true if you’re eating for emotional relief, as opposed to eating because you’re hungry.
Symptoms of a chronic overeating problem include:
•having difficulty to stop eating
•repeatedly and quickly eating large amounts of food
•eating even when you’re full
•never feeling satisfied
Both depression and overeating can be treated, even when they occur together. The first line of treatment will be to seek therapy. Your therapist will be able to help you determine the causes of both the overeating and the depression, and create a plan for how you can manage both.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be helpful for both depression and overeating. According to the Sheppard Pratt Treatment Center, it’s the most evidence-based treatment for adults with eating disorders. During CBT, you and your therapist will search for what causes or triggers led to the depression and overeating, and try to find a solution for both immediate treatment and long-term management.
Your therapist may look for weight-control behaviors, such as:
•dietary constraint, which can lead to binge eating
•purging behaviors
•body avoidance, in which you avoid looking at your body
Oct 10, 2024 · An increased appetite may also be connected to binge eating disorder, a mental health condition in which individuals struggle to control their food intake. Some anti-depressants also cause an increase in appetite, which may cause weight gain. For example, weight gain is a significant side effect of many SSRIs. An increase in appetite might also ...
Sep 4, 2022 · Optimizing nutrition may be helpful for preventing and alleviating symptoms of depression. “You are what you eat” is an oft-repeated anthem, a quick way for us to say that what we eat matters ...
