Binge eating disorder (BED) is a severe eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food (sometimes very quickly).
People with BED may feel a loss of control while binging as well as shame, guilt, and distress afterward. People with binge eating disorders may also use unhealthy coping mechanisms to alleviate their discomfort after a binging episode. If you’ve ever experienced these symptoms or wondered, “do I have binge eating disorder?” keep reading to learn more about the binge eating disorder criteria for diagnosis and common symptoms.
Binge Eating Disorder Criteria
To be diagnosed with binge eating disorder, you’d have to meet the binge eating disorder diagnostic criteria. The binge eating disorder DSM 5 criteria recognized BED as an actual eating disorder in May 2013. This is the official “rule book” for diagnosing people with mental health disorders.
If you’re wondering how to know if you have binge eating disorder, the DSM-5 lists these key diagnostic features of BED:1
- Recurrent and insistent episodes of binge eating
- Recurrent and insistent episodes of binge eating
- Eating more rapidly than normal
- Eating until you feel uncomfortably full or ill
- Eating large amounts of food when you’re not hungry
- Eating alone because you’re embarrassed by how much you’re eating
- Feeling disgusted with yourself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating
- Distress regarding binge eating
- Distress regarding binge eating
There are also certain risk factors of binge eating disorder to keep in mind, such as family history, certain personality traits, childhood issues, mental illness, and an unhealthy relationship with food. It’s also important to keep in mind that BED is different from other eating disorders because people with BED will not vomit or purge after an episode of binge eating. Food addiction, emotional eating, and mindless eating also differ from BED, so understanding the signs and symptoms of binge eating disorder can help you better understand and identify this condition.
Signs of Binge Eating Disorder
So, what are the signs and symptoms of binge eating disorder? Most people overeat from time to time, and many of us would agree that we eat more often than we should. However, eating large amounts of food doesn’t mean that you have binge eating disorder.
The most common signs of binge eating disorder include:
- Frequent episodes of eating an abnormally large amount of food
- Frequently feeling unable to control what or how much you eat
- Eating more rapidly than normal
- Eating until you’re uncomfortably full
- Even large amounts of food when you aren’t hungry
- Eating alone because you feel embarrassed about how much you eat
- Feeling ashamed, disgusted, or depressed after eating
- The disappearance of large quantities of food in short periods
- Empty wrappers and containers that indicate a large amount of food was eaten
- Feeling unhappy about your weight, body size, or body shape
- Having perfectionist tendencies or personality traits
- Frequently fluctuating in weight
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- High-cholesterol
- Sleep apnea and trouble sleeping
- Heart disease
- Depression
- Anxiety
If left untreated, binge eating disorder can cause problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, breathing problems, heart disease, sleep problems, irregular or loss of menstrual cycles, and more. This disorder can also affect your mental health, career, and relationships. People with eating disorders may also turn to more drastic methods of losing or maintaining their weight, such as drug abuse. At Banyan Treatment Centers, we offer eating disorder treatment in Philadelphia to help people with conditions like BED and anorexia get their health and lives back.
If you’re wondering, “do I have binge eating disorder?” or recognize the signs of binge eating disorder in yourself or a loved one, it’s time to get help. Call our drug rehab in Philadelphia today at 888-280-4763 to learn more about our binge eating disorder treatment and levels of substance abuse treatment.
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