QUESTION: I suffer from BED, (Binge Eating Disorder), and I am a Christian. I think only a miracle can make me eat less. I know there's more to it than being greedy. My Psychiatric Support Worker thinks I should try OA (it’s a group for people who eat too much in UK), as the Prozac hasn't diminished my appetite that much.

ANSWER: New research about BED suggests that, like other eating disorders, BED may spring from genetic causes. Which means that BED is about as likely to arise from ‘greed’ as cancer is to arise from ‘laziness’. It is time to move beyond such simplistic assessments to an investigation of the root causes for why you are turning to food for comfort, safe haven, and distraction from other, underlying issues that may feel unmanageable to you. It is also time for a thorough medical evaluation (if you haven’t already done so) to determine any other reasons why your eating is so difficult for you to manage.

I have heard mixed reports from participants in OA communities – for some, it seems to work quite well to help diagnose and address the root causes of BED behaviors. For others, a different approach might work better. But it is definitely worth getting involved and finding out what OA has to offer you!

In the meantime, it is important to remember that recovery happens on all four levels – and must be balanced in each area in order for sustained progress to occur. Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual transformation must take place, and if one level of recovery proceeds faster than another, returns to the disordered eating behaviors can occur for a time until the other levels ‘catch up’. Relapse isn’t always about relapse – sometimes it simply arises to show us where there is still work to be done!

Most ‘miracles’ are a combination of sincere self-effort and a strong, sustained belief that recovery can be accomplished. And most true miracles are those that happen over time, with discipline, perseverance and sheer determination to achieve the goal NO MATTER WHAT. After eight years of working, I achieved the ‘miracle’ of relief from my disordered eating behaviors – behaviors that had plagued me for the prior fifteen years. Anything worth doing is worth any amount of time it takes – a lifetime, if that is what is necessary.

So keep working. Keep believing you can do it, because you CAN. Keep trying anything and everything that seems to hold out possibilities for continued recovery progress. Keep working on not just the ‘what’ (the BED behaviors themselves) but the ‘why’ – unravel the mystery of why BED has such a hold over you, and you can create a whole new skill set that can replace the BED behaviors forever. It CAN be done. Once you set your mind to it, it WILL be done.

Warmly,

Shannon

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