Type 2 and Binge Eating

[Serena51]

Thank you for sharing so openly with one another re binge eating. I am going through this at the moment and found it so comforting that I am not alone. I have dealt with it in the past and am more confident now that I will get through it again.

 

[zand]

Thanks for the comments.

I did have several sessions with a psychiatrist who first diagnosed me with an eating disorder. She said she had referred me to a psychologist in order to seek out the underlying cause of my problem.

That was 2 years ago.

I don't think lunchtime has any significance in my story. I used to binge at any time of the day, but have now managed to limit it to around the lunchtime period.

Looking back to my childhood. I remember coming home from school and finding there was little or no food to eat. I come from a poor family and my parents did their best with what they had. This was in the 1950s before the benefit cash giveaway society we have today.

I know I always used to wolf my food down and I would clean up any leftovers. I remember when I joined the Royal Navy I couldn't believe how much food there was to eat.

However, I'm not totally convinced that my problem can be put totally on my childhood eating habits. Overeating has always been with me but it has got worse in recent years. I'm currently 67 years old.

I have several health conditions and have had to give up most of my hobbies. I wonder whether boredom or lack of activity may be exacerbating any problems I may have.

The one thing I'm sure of is my problems are likely to be from more than one simple source. I don't think there will be much help coming from the medical profession. I asked two different doctors for help but one laughed at me and thought I was joking when I suggested I had an eating problem. The other doctor told me not to waste his time and that I should just get a hold of myself. I only got referred to the psychiatrist after a session with the senior diabetes nurse at the GP surgery.

I even tried to go privately to a cognitive behavioural therapist but she was fully booked up for at least 2 years.

So it's looking to me like I'm on my own for now. Chatting on this forum is giving me some hope and some ideas that might help. So thanks guys for all your comments.

So stick with us then How about posting every day to share your successes and failures? Maybe together we can work something out, and in doing so help others too.

 

[DCUKMod]

@Inchindown - I wonder if you are looking for something you enjoy, that would have been a success back in your childhood - having a full belly.

If you have multiple conditions which you suggest have led to you giving upo most of your hobbies, did you grieve for the hobbies as they went? Have you tried to find other things that could replace what you have given up; whether in satisfaction of time spent?

I was been in the fortunate position about 15 years ago when, having sold a business, I could "retire". I decided I'd give it a go, but I was back to work within about 3 months, because I really felt the lack of structure in my day, and lack of punctuation regarding what sort of day it was (week day, weekend, holiday) a bit much to get my head around. I really felt if I didn't do something I'd drown in the sameness of it all could well start to develop unwanted and unhelpful behaviours. The littlest things started to mean a lot. So, I got myself a job.

My intention was the job was just to be a punctuation to the days, but being me, I get stuck right in and before I knew it I was back in a big job with big pressures and all that.

Next time that opportunity came around (about 5 years ago), I was much more ready for it, but it still took time to adjust to living in a different way. I still haven't "retired" and certainly don't use that word to describe myself (I'm still some way off state pension age), but I work differently now, in a way I have more control of. Sometimes I still miss the adrenalin rush and in a bonkers way, the pressure! The same stresses can be positives or negatives in a heartbeat.

I appreciate I have waffled on, but change - especially where it has been on a sort of drip-feed basis (or multiple diagnoses and giving things up) can sometimes appear unnoticed, when actually what we could do with doing in acknowledging it.

I wonder if any of that chimes with you at all?

If not, just indulge an old gurl waffling!