Latest news with #BED
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'I'm terrified of food - but I can't get specialist eating disorder treatment'
A woman whose wait for a diagnosis of a lesser known eating disorder left her feeling like a "problem that cannot be solved" has called for reform of how the condition is treated by Northern Ireland's health service. Sinead Quinn, from Londonderry, said binge eating compulsions had made her "a prisoner in her own home, afraid of food and afraid of herself". Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is not currently treated by eating disorder services in Northern Ireland - patients are instead referred to general mental health services. The Department of Health said regional adult eating disorder services were commissioned to treat anorexia, bulimia and atypical presentations of these conditions. BED is the second most common eating disorder in the UK, after atypical eating disorders, according to UK health assessment body NICE. The Department of Health said it did not collate data on how many people in Northern Ireland are living with BED. It also said there was no current review of the way the condition is treated. Experts say specialist care within the health service is urgently needed to help people get a formal diagnosis and recover from BED. Ms Quinn said her relationship with food had always been complicated. "Food either brings me great comfort or I am terrified of it and that's because I have carried weight for most of my childhood and my adult life," she told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme. "A lot of my days have been filled with either thinking about food, dieting or binging. It's exhausting." The 43-year-old said she experiences overwhelming compulsions to eat, which can lead her to consume up to 5,000 calories in less than 30 minutes. "My binge patterns can change but for me it's about going to a shop to buy certain food items and not the same shop regularly, as you don't want people judging you," she said. "I have a routine around it and, then, knowing the food is there - there is a feeling of release in that. "The minute I finish eating, the shame and self-hatred sets in and that is a really horrible place to be." Binge eating disorder involves regularly eating a lot of food over a short period of time until you are uncomfortably full. It is a serious mental health condition where people eat without feeling like they are in control. Symptoms include: eating when not hungry eating very fast during a binge eating alone or secretly feeling depressed, guilty, ashamed, or disgusted after binge eating Binges are sometimes planned but can be spontaneous. They are usually done alone, and may include "special" binge foods and create feelings of shame or guilt afterwards. Source: NHS After losing 7st (44kg) last year through what she described as "restrictive dieting", Ms Quinn found herself returning to binge eating and, in turn, regaining some weight. She decided it was time to ask for help. With "fantastic support" from her GP, who recognised Ms Quinn met the diagnostic criteria for BED, she was then referred to the Western Trust's eating disorder service. The referral was refused on the basis the service is not commissioned to care for BED - in line with all Northern Ireland's health trusts. Ms Quinn has since been referred to mental health services, but she is concerned that care will possibly not be administered by an eating disorder specialist. She described her feeling of being a "problem that cannot be solved", adding that it was a "very lonely place to be". "Eating disorder services in Northern Ireland should treat all eating disorders." According to the National Centre for Eating Disorders, one in two people in the UK who seek help for weight loss eat compulsively. Nicola Armstrong, who is the eating disorder charity Beat's national lead for Northern Ireland, said weight gain was a symptom of BED and that could lead to "shame and stigma". "This illness can be portrayed as someone being overindulgent or greedy and that is simply not the case," she said. "Often people find that their case can be treated as a weight management issue rather than an eating disorder. "What is needed in Northern Ireland is equitable access to evidence-based treatment for BED." Prof Laura McGowan, from the Centre for Public Health at Queen's University, hopes the recently announced roll-out of a regional obesity management service for Northern Ireland would include screening of eating disorders like BED. "BED is simply not widely recognised and the services for it not widely commissioned," she said. "For BED patients, especially those living with obesity, there is such an unmet need." NICE guidelines advise that children, young people and adults who have BED should be firstly offered guided self-help. Sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy are then offered if self-help treatment is found to not be enough. Ursula Philpot, a dietician and clinical lead for eating disorders with NHS England, described BED as the "forgotten eating disorder". She was instrumental in the roll-out of an online self-help BED pilot programme provided by the Republic of Ireland's health service. "BED is not well recognised either by people themselves who have it or by the medical professionals. "They can see someone as having a lack of willpower, rather than having an illness. "The work we have done in the Republic, we have found to be very effective - the expertise of the specialist workforce we have in the UK can be delivered to patients in Ireland online." For Sinead Quinn, she's "at a point in my life, I know this cycle of binging and restrictive dieting needs to stop". "I don't want to spend my days locked in the house in fear of food. "It's no way for anyone to live." If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, information about help and support is available via BBC Action Line. Anorexia made me hide in toilets at meal times - but it's OK to talk about it Rise in young teens seeking eating disorder help
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'I'm terrified of food - but I can't get specialist eating disorder treatment'
A woman whose wait for a diagnosis of a lesser known eating disorder left her feeling like a "problem that cannot be solved" has called for reform of how the condition is treated by Northern Ireland's health service. Sinead Quinn, from Londonderry, said binge eating compulsions had made her "a prisoner in her own home, afraid of food and afraid of herself". Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is not currently treated by eating disorder services in Northern Ireland - patients are instead referred to general mental health services. The Department of Health said regional adult eating disorder services were commissioned to treat anorexia, bulimia and atypical presentations of these conditions. BED is the second most common eating disorder in the UK, after atypical eating disorders, according to UK health assessment body NICE. The Department of Health said it did not collate data on how many people in Northern Ireland are living with BED. It also said there was no current review of the way the condition is treated. Experts say specialist care within the health service is urgently needed to help people get a formal diagnosis and recover from BED. Ms Quinn said her relationship with food had always been complicated. "Food either brings me great comfort or I am terrified of it and that's because I have carried weight for most of my childhood and my adult life," she told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme. "A lot of my days have been filled with either thinking about food, dieting or binging. It's exhausting." The 43-year-old said she experiences overwhelming compulsions to eat, which can lead her to consume up to 5,000 calories in less than 30 minutes. "My binge patterns can change but for me it's about going to a shop to buy certain food items and not the same shop regularly, as you don't want people judging you," she said. "I have a routine around it and, then, knowing the food is there - there is a feeling of release in that. "The minute I finish eating, the shame and self-hatred sets in and that is a really horrible place to be." Binge eating disorder involves regularly eating a lot of food over a short period of time until you are uncomfortably full. It is a serious mental health condition where people eat without feeling like they are in control. Symptoms include: eating when not hungry eating very fast during a binge eating alone or secretly feeling depressed, guilty, ashamed, or disgusted after binge eating Binges are sometimes planned but can be spontaneous. They are usually done alone, and may include "special" binge foods and create feelings of shame or guilt afterwards. Source: NHS After losing 7st (44kg) last year through what she described as "restrictive dieting", Ms Quinn found herself returning to binge eating and, in turn, regaining some weight. She decided it was time to ask for help. With "fantastic support" from her GP, who recognised Ms Quinn met the diagnostic criteria for BED, she was then referred to the Western Trust's eating disorder service. The referral was refused on the basis the service is not commissioned to care for BED - in line with all Northern Ireland's health trusts. Ms Quinn has since been referred to mental health services, but she is concerned that care will possibly not be administered by an eating disorder specialist. She described her feeling of being a "problem that cannot be solved", adding that it was a "very lonely place to be". "Eating disorder services in Northern Ireland should treat all eating disorders." According to the National Centre for Eating Disorders, one in two people in the UK who seek help for weight loss eat compulsively. Nicola Armstrong, who is the eating disorder charity Beat's national lead for Northern Ireland, said weight gain was a symptom of BED and that could lead to "shame and stigma". "This illness can be portrayed as someone being overindulgent or greedy and that is simply not the case," she said. "Often people find that their case can be treated as a weight management issue rather than an eating disorder. "What is needed in Northern Ireland is equitable access to evidence-based treatment for BED." Prof Laura McGowan, from the Centre for Public Health at Queen's University, hopes the recently announced roll-out of a regional obesity management service for Northern Ireland would include screening of eating disorders like BED. "BED is simply not widely recognised and the services for it not widely commissioned," she said. "For BED patients, especially those living with obesity, there is such an unmet need." NICE guidelines advise that children, young people and adults who have BED should be firstly offered guided self-help. Sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy are then offered if self-help treatment is found to not be enough. Ursula Philpot, a dietician and clinical lead for eating disorders with NHS England, described BED as the "forgotten eating disorder". She was instrumental in the roll-out of an online self-help BED pilot programme provided by the Republic of Ireland's health service. "BED is not well recognised either by people themselves who have it or by the medical professionals. "They can see someone as having a lack of willpower, rather than having an illness. "The work we have done in the Republic, we have found to be very effective - the expertise of the specialist workforce we have in the UK can be delivered to patients in Ireland online." For Sinead Quinn, she's "at a point in my life, I know this cycle of binging and restrictive dieting needs to stop". "I don't want to spend my days locked in the house in fear of food. "It's no way for anyone to live." If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, information about help and support is available via BBC Action Line. Anorexia made me hide in toilets at meal times - but it's OK to talk about it Rise in young teens seeking eating disorder help
The Sun
03-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Instead of solving my weight loss issues, a slimming club gave me a ‘secret' disorder that saw me pile ON the pounds
Sitting in my car in the supermarket car park, I ripped open the packaging of a whole roast chicken and began cramming it into my mouth. But instead of feeling disgusted by my gluttony, I felt proud. 4 4 According to the slimming club I'd joined, roast chicken was one of the foods I could have unlimited amounts of, so I wasn't doing anything wrong, was I? It was just one example of how the 'rules' of a slimming plan made me develop binge eating disorder (BED). Growing up, I was always a bit chubby, and in my 20s, when I worked in hospitality, the weight piled on. By 2017, I was living on fizzy drinks and ready meals. I weighed 17st, and at 5ft 8in, I was obese. An unflattering photo on social media was the wake-up call I needed. In July 2017, I joined a slimming club, with weekly weigh-ins at a local community hall. Members were encouraged to view some foods as 'unlimited' and others on a points scale, with a daily points allocation. At first, I was losing several pounds a week and felt delighted. But as the novelty wore off, I began to fall into destructive habits. Feeling ravenous, I turned to the unlimited foods to feel full in a 'healthy' way. From a whole chicken to a jacket potato and pasta in the same meal, I used them to hit that full feeling I craved, on top of my daily allowance of other foods. I'd celebrate with a cheat meal the night after my weigh-in, too. I'd demolish a Chinese takeaway, chocolate, crisps and dips, eating for several hours, which I'd never done before. Feeling guilty the following day, I'd restrict what I ate until my next weigh-in, with the exception of my unlimited food feasts. Psychologically, I found myself increasingly hooked on the high I'd feel when bingeing – like the night I ate 12 bags of Aero chocolates, a family-sized tiramisu, plus a multipack of crisps – or from eating so much unlimited rice and fruit that I couldn't move. Within three months, my weight dropped to 16st, which only reinforced my belief that it was all fine. However, as the months passed, I was bingeing more often, and my weight crept up again. 'EMOTIONALLY LOW' By 2018, I was 16st 7lb. Embarrassed to be gaining rather than losing weight, I stopped attending meetings, though I kept following the plan. Without the accountability of a meeting, I binged on takeaways several times a week, followed by eating nothing for a whole day, then eating beyond my points allocation. As I got bigger, my joints ached and I felt exhausted and emotionally low. If family and friends noticed, they didn't say anything, but they must have wondered how I was fatter despite being on a slimming plan. By January 2019, I was 19st 7lb and a size 24. I felt like a failure. I knew I needed to step away from the slimming plan for good. My mum, who had attended clubs when she was younger, was really supportive. She gave me a weight-loss hypnosis CD, and I began learning about nutrition, creating my own healthy diet where no food was 'good', 'bad' or 'unlimited'. It was only then that it hit me how disordered my eating had become. After doing some researching online, I realised I'd developed BED. I'd never even heard of before, and felt sad that, in trying to be healthy, I'd ended up with an eating disorder. But I knew that now I'd educated myself about food, I could overcome it. By late 2019, my weight had dropped to 13st through healthy eating and exercise. I avoided feeling starving or stuffed, aiming to always be in the middle. I met my partner in December 2019 and in August 2022 our daughter Evelyn was born. During my pregnancy, my weight went back up to 16st, but I knew I could lose it sensibly and gradually. Now, I'm 12st 2lb and size 12. 4 I feel healthier than ever, although it's a daily battle not to listen to the BED voice in my head and have a secret binge. Like many women, I thought a slimming club was the way to lose weight, but its rules saw my weight spiral, and I believe the focus on 'good' and 'bad' foods can forge dangerous habits. I'll never let my daughter join one.
Khaleej Times
27-02-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
Dubai: Do you find yourself eating away your feelings?
Food isn't just fuel. It's social. It's cultural. It's emotional. In the Gulf region — especially in Dubai — dining out is more than a habit; it's a lifestyle where indulgence is the norm. Food frames social interactions in the workplace and in our personal lives. Swanky business lunches, brunches, endless new restaurant openings, and viral food trends make food less about hunger and necessity and more about eating for the experience. Food also releases dopamine, the brain's feel-good chemical. It's why eating something we enjoy can instantly lift our mood. 'Everyone emotionally eats sometimes,' says Dr Hollie Shannon, clinical psychologist at Sage Clinics. 'It's normal to enjoy food for comfort or celebration.' What constitutes 'normal' eating is vastly complex. But experts agree that healthy eating habits include flexibility — eating for pleasure, adjusting intake based on activity levels, and sometimes indulging just because you want to. Emotional eating, on the other hand, is when food becomes a coping mechanism rather than a choice. 'When we eat in response to stress, anxiety, loneliness or boredom without actual physical hunger that's emotional eating,' Dr Shannon explained. 'It's a way to soothe emotional or psychological discomfort, rather than engage in social experiences and fuel the body. 'If food becomes the primary way to manage emotions, it can turn into a problematic cycle — momentary relief followed by guilt, shame, or loss of control,' she explained. Like other potentially harmful coping mechanisms, emotional eating can serve as both a distraction and a numbing tool for uncomfortable feelings,' she said. 'It reduces physiological arousal, meaning it literally calms the nervous system. That's why some people might reach for food when they're feeling overwhelmed.' Not everyone who eats emotionally has an eating disorder, but unchecked emotional eating can spiral into something more serious, such as Binge Eating Disorder (BED) or Bulimia Nervosa (BN).'The warning signs are when eating patterns start interfering with daily life,' said Dr Shannon. 'If someone feels out of control, preoccupied with food, or is using it as their only way to manage stress, that's a red flag.' Another key sign? Guilt. 'If someone feels a deep sense of shame after eating, or they try to 'compensate' with restrictive dieting or excessive exercise, it's time to re-evaluate their relationship with food and with themselves,' she said. Dr Shannon, who has recently moved to Dubai, has noticed the paradox being in the city has on people's relationship with stress, food and body image. 'Like many of the world's best cities, Dubai has an amazing food culture,' Dr Shannon noted. 'However, for some people, food can become an obsession. Extravagant menus and viral food trends can create a sense of pressure to 'try the latest' and anxiety about 'missing out.'' In parallel, the city operates at a fast-pace and is obsessed with hustle culture, fitness and aesthetics. 'Everyday life in a busy city undeniably brings a certain level of stress. At the same time, people are bombarded with messages about body ideals — stay fit, look perfect, don't gain weight,' she added. 'I can see how, for many, this push-and-pull leads to guilt, restrictive dieting, and then overeating or bingeing, reinforcing a cycle of emotional eating.' For those struggling, self-awareness is the first step. 'Recognising the pattern is key,' she emphasises. 'Once you do, you can start shifting towards healthier ways to manage emotions without relying on food.' Dr Shannon suggested several practical strategies for breaking the habit of emotional eating. A simple strategy is to pause before eating and ask yourself: Am I actually hungry, or am I feeling stressed, anxious, or emotional? Recognising these cues can help distinguish between physical and emotional hunger. Practising mindful eating is another approach. When you eat, don't do anything other than that: slow down, remove distractions, and pay attention to how food tastes, smells, and feels. This can enhance control over eating habits and make you more attuned to hunger cues. Expanding coping strategies beyond food is crucial, whether through movement, journalling, deep breathing, or social connection. Lastly, she warns against using restrictive dieting as a quick fix, as it often backfires and fails to address the root causes behind emotional eating. Food and emotions are deeply linked, but food shouldn't be the only coping tool. 'Enjoying food is normal,' said Dr Shannon. 'Recognising patterns, developing alternative coping strategies, and fostering balance can help prevent emotional eating from becoming harmful.'
