I promise I'll Never Binge Again...

[Goreygirl]

(from an e-newsletter I get).

Never binging again is possible but the biggest mistake that people who binge make is saying to themselves, "I'll never binge again!" Yet, we all do it. The food is finished and then we promise ourselves that it will never happen again. Even though almost everyone that binges says that to themselves, it sets you up for self-hatred, guilt and failure. You see, no one that ends a pattern of binging does it cold turkey. You don't decide to stop and then never binge again. It's just not how ending a pattern of binging works. That's because the binge serves a very important purpose. It makes you feel better emotionally. So, if you're committed to never binging again what are the signs along the way the signify that you're succeeding:

*More time between binges (even something small for example, I used to binge every other day and now only do it every third day)
*Shorter binges (My binges used to last two days, now they only last an hour)
*Binges on smaller amounts of food (I used to eat a gallon of ice-cream, now I eat half a pint)
*The ability to stop a binge in the middle (I used to not even realize I was having a binge till it was over, now I can stop myself in the middle)
*Forgiving yourself more quickly after a binge ends (I don't talk to myself in a mean way when I binge, I have compassion for myself)
*Bouncing back more quickly when a binge happens (in other words recommitting to understanding and stopping your binge pattern)
*Understanding what feelings set off the binge (I was able to see that I had the binge after I had a fight with my boss)
*The ability to see a binge coming (even if you can't stop it yet)

Being able to acknowledge the small successes along the way is a really important step on the road to recovery. It can be all too easy to see how far you still need to go and forget how far you've already come. Ending a binge pattern is hard work but you can do it. One day you might not binge at all but it won't happen by making a declaration, it will happen by being loving to yourself and staying aware. So, don't say, "I'll never binge again." Instead, take it one gentle step at a time. Remember, you're looking for progress, not perfection.

This really resonated with me because of my spectacular leaps from the CD wagon in the past into the binge barrel.... but looking back I can see that each binge is getting shorter, further apart and is not providing the emotional "numb" it did before so is actually less "trance" like for me

Hope others are finding the same?

 

[shell09]

That makes for interesting reading! If you planned an evening of eating pizza ice cream n sweets with your girlfriends or other half on the odd occasion would that still be considered a binge do you think? Or even if you done it alone? Or would you describe a binge as being more uncontrollable and unplanned? Just curious

 

[Goreygirl]

I think if when planning the evening you were feeling "excited" at the thought of access to that food and found your self "sneaking" food (an extra slice etc) during the evening then it could be considered a binge that you are covering up in a socially acceptable way to yourself. However if it is a straight forward night with the girls/OH ... you have no thoughts about the food really until it arrives, you eat it and enjoy it and taste it and then forget about it and enjoy then it's not.

The whole premise of binging in the true eating disorder sense is that you are using the food as a mood altering substance and the binge is not so much about the food (in fact you hardly taste it, you are just stuffing it in!) but about what you are trying to deny/hide from/suppress emotionally.

 

[shell09]

Interesting..... Cd really makes you realise how much your social life revolves around eating n drinking!