Binge eating

Hi- you have made a key point here - you binge when stressed/anxious. This is the key. I’ve struggled with a lot of issues around food and from ibs- i’ve had phases of only eating handful of foods in same order and also had issues with binging at times and I know how helpless it can make you feel. Different things work for different people but I can maybe share some experiences / give some ideas in case it helps. Stress is a huge factor. And recognising that is a big step in itself and will ultimately also help reduce binging. Guilt is unhelpful- it’s a coping mechanism. I know one suggestion is to try find alternative things to do when you feel need to binge- this never worked for me as in that moment I just couldn’t stop or think of something else. But I think in general it is probably a good idea to think of other things you could do to reduce stress. 
Binging might also occur if you are undereating or getting over hungry- not sure if this could be the case? Regular meals and snacks help with that. 
This might be a controversial one but it can reallly help to remove the temptation- at least for a while if you can- don’t keep chocolate in the house - and if you really want some you can always buy 1 portion and enjoy it- or only keep small amounts in house- you are not ‘banning’ the food completely, but it is an act of kindness to actually say ok well at the moment this it is not a good idea to have this in the house in large quantities- you can still enjoy chocolate of course! For me I had a huge issue with cake etc and i felt compelled to eat it and often ended up binging or eating more than my ibs could tolerate and triggering it - (being misdiagnosed with a restrictive eating disorder also didn’t help as I kept feeling I had to have cake to fix it)- having just a small amount usually didn’t work. I had issues for long time and I ended up just taking a break from it completely- this wasn’t easy but it’s weird- i recently actually bought a piece of cake as i wanted to do something nice for myself but I didn’t eat it! I just don’t fancy it at all anymore and even tasting it didn’t make me want it- if i do ever want some i will have some. For me just not having cake for a while was right- but  ´diet mentality and banning food’ can also lead to binging. 

it might be helpful to keep a food diary for a while- write down time you ate, what you ate, where, any events/relevant info (ie upset at work erc)- you might find some patterns and triggers for binging. Again it depends again- at times food diary was helpful for me but sometimes it was also better for me to not keep one and to eat and forget. 

i also had a great dietitian helping me wihout whom

i would never have made the progress I have.

Thanks Ann. That’s a lot of info youve gone to the trouble of writing. Thanks for trying to help. I think some of those things might be useful. 

how did you end up having a dietician. I do feel like this has gone past the point where I can sort it out on my own. My gp suggested I refer to a service but they rejected my application. 

Hi- I was very lucky regarding dietitian. I was waiting for help through the NHS but it was taking a long time and I desperately needed some help- my university has a fund for these situations and they ended up paying for some sessions with a dietitian privately - she’s amazing and I continued working with her. She takes a very individualised approach and has experience with autistic people. I am very grateful to her - she is one of the only professionals who really made a difference to my physical and mental health. https://www.dalianutrition.com

Hi- I was very lucky regarding dietitian. I was waiting for help through the NHS but it was taking a long time and I desperately needed some help- my university has a fund for these situations and they ended up paying for some sessions with a dietitian privately - she’s amazing and I continued working with her. She takes a very individualised approach and has experience with autistic people. I am very grateful to her - she is one of the only professionals who really made a difference to my physical and mental health. https://www.dalianutrition.com