Food Addiction Support Group

YES!! I soooo have the same problem. I have tried to talk to family members or friends and they think that you should just be able to shut it off like a switch or something. Or that if you want to lose weight bad enough then you just have to stop eating so much. They seriously do not understand what it is like to be OBSESSED with food! I guess unless you are going through it, you just can't understand it. It must seem silly to them that we can't just control what we eat. I have even had someone that I am close to and is skinny tell me that they know how I feel because they think about food a lot too. No, they don't understand. If they did they would be in the same boat as me. There is a difference between thinking about food and TOTALLY OBSESSING aboug food like I do. So yes, I do have the same problem as you, and yes, it must be a common reaction.

aahh thank you! lol i already feel better. this friend that i told is TINY and when i told her, she went on and on about how she just discovered the perfect diet. Her, the tiny girl. It was so hard to listen to!!!

*****Also, I want to add to my question: Does anyone know the best way/a really good way to explain it to people that don't get it?*****

No one really understands. The situation sucks. You think you have control, but then you just lose it and everything falls apart. You realize that no matter what, nothing can help. You look at yourself as being stuck--in a vicious cycle. You are afraid of everything--afraid of yourself...and you think that there is no way out.

Perhaps rather than sharing the "symptom" of binging with people, come clean and let your friends know you are having a difficult time dealing with life. Admit to them that you feel bad about your situation and ask them for help in facing your feelings. Binging is simply our reaction to being unwilling to face reality and the pain in our lives. I binge for one and only one reason ~ to escape feelings I'd rather not face.

Of course the question then is - do you binge for any other reason?

omg we are identical. yes when i think of BED, i think i have an eating disorder. but then i think no one will take me seriously cuz its not anorexia or bulimia. i just eat too much. but it is a serious disorder that puts me into a depression. i feel the same also as if i have no one to talk to. i have not told a doctor but i keep telling my mom i need help and she keeps trying to relate but its not the same. she does nt have a disorder!
then i tell my friend, who is also a stick, that i am basically addicted to food. what does she say? omg i know me too. i just love love love food. and im like no! i am actually addicted and its a disorder. its so frustrating and i dont know how to treat myself or get help

yea i agree--people don't understand...its funny---when i was in 7th grade our health teacher said there are 2 kind of people---those who eat to live and those who live to eat---and at the time i did not suffer from BED, and i remember thinking to myself--who lives to eat...?---and now i know...

i think you need to surround yourself with "safe" people. i have chosen not to tell alot of important people in my life because i dont think they would understand. i have found people who listen, maybe dont understand but they dont judge. i just tell them that i am dealing with this, and it causes me to isolate myself and i am very depressed. i tell them that i need them to reach out to me because i will not when i am in isolation. i also told my best friend in the beginning and she did not respond the way i wanted her to. when i told her that i was upset that i felt like she was acting like it wasent important or a big deal, she said that it was because she didnt understand how much it was affecting my life and she didnt understand it. most mainstream dr's and people only think anorexia and bulimia are the only eating disorders. WRONG! this is probably the biggest one because so many people have it and treatment is not available everywhere like it is for the other 2. it may not be as life threatening most of the time as far as it killing us but it kills us emotionally and mentally it breaks us down. this website is a blessing because when i first started looking for help, this was not here. hang in there. look for people here for support until you feel comfortable telling others around you.

Nobody knows about my binge eating except for the people here and on one other forum (and someone doesn't believe me on that forum, either). Not even my husband knows about it, although I think he'd be the closest person to understanding, because he's an alcoholic and understands obsession.

I have a very close friend that I've tried talking to a little bit about it, but her ideas on food and eating are so far from mine that she just can't even comprehend. It makes m feel sad that I have no one to talk to in person about it.

Yup, I know where you're coming from.
People think they get it, but they don't understand that it's an addicition. They think it's just a case of eating too much, and that you can just turn it off.
My closest friends and some family members know about it, and as much as I appreciate their attempts at help, this is an example of how sometimes, you need to be your own best friend.

I don't attempt to explain it to anyone because if it isn't bulimia or anorexia, they won't understand. I think your friend was trying to be helpful so don't take anything she said to mean she was trying to hurt you. She reacted in the only way she knew how. As for your doctor, get a new one, what an idiot!
I have friends that are large and they get it so I do confide in them on my issues, but I think my main problem is my struggle with depression which I believe led to BED. So I confide in people I have known for a long time and can trust to not be stupid about it. Maybe if you aren't seeing an eating disorder specialist, you should. I'm planning on it. They will understand what you are trying to say.