Why am I bingeing?

“Why . . . ?”

So many of my first calls with clients begin with these questions:

• “Why am I binge eating?”
• “Why can’t I stop?”
• “Why aren’t I smart enough to figure this out? I’m so freakin’ successful in the rest of my life!”
• “Why is there this ONE thing that I can’t master?”
• “Why do I eat a whole cake when I know a piece would suffice? It’s not like it’s rocket science, you know?”

Yes. I do know. I asked these questions, too, for nearly 35 years.

There are several schools of thought on the answer. Here’s one:

When we lose connection to our internal source of leadership, parts of us do their best to help us navigate our lives, our stresses, even our joys. Believe it or not, the part of us that binges is trying to help us.

How? By protecting us from something it fears is worse.

• Perhaps the pain of being left by the love of your life.
• Maybe the realization that you’re struggling to even LIKE your kids.
• Possibly, the grind of daily commuting to a job you despise.

The reasons are as individual as are my beautiful clients.

When we heal what our bingeing part protects, we also heal the neural connection behind the bingeing, not just work to re-wire a new neural connection.

This is the evidence-based theory and approach developed by renowned clinician Dr. Richard Schwartz after working with people with bulimia for years.

Oh, and, ahem, I have completed his training.