Eating Disorders Support Group
Eating disorders are marked by an obsessive need to control the intake and/or purging of food. This community is dedicated to those struggling on the road to recovery. Join to discuss your experience with others and find support. Get advice, ask questions, and meet others who are going through similar struggles.
sundays suck major. it seems to get the better of me every time. i have yet to figure out what it is about it, but it's driving me a little wacky.
but i do actually have a question. i keep having family and friends refer to my problem as an "addiction" and i keep trying to reframe it as a disorder.
as my particular issue is binge eating, i can see why they'd qualify it as an addiction, but i do it purely to make myself sick. which, in my mind, qualifies it as a disorder.
do people use those terms interchangeably? addiction vs. disorder? my therapist brain can't seem to work it out.
but i do actually have a question. i keep having family and friends refer to my problem as an "addiction" and i keep trying to reframe it as a disorder.
as my particular issue is binge eating, i can see why they'd qualify it as an addiction, but i do it purely to make myself sick. which, in my mind, qualifies it as a disorder.
do people use those terms interchangeably? addiction vs. disorder? my therapist brain can't seem to work it out.
People with EDs can experience a "high". Starvation causes this "high". Purging causes this "high". Binge eating causes this "high". Our bodies release chemicals that makes us feel good. For example, when you binge eat the carbs are converted into energy and there is a large release of serotonin - a feel good chemical and one that is targeted by most anti-depressants. Even though you do it to make yourself sick it is still a addiction. You are addicted to the behaviors, the reasons, etc. You use to to cope with your emotions.
Bottom line: it is an addiction.