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Emotional Eating (Expert Forum)
Bipolar Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions in the Emotional Eating forum are answered by Dr. Roger Gould. Topics covered include anger and eating, anxiety and eating, binge eating, depression and eating, eating to "fit in", emotional eating, fill the void eating, guilt and eating, loneliness and eating, social eating, and stress and eating.
Bipolar Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa
by Lindsela, May 19, 2009 02:28PM
In your professional opinion, is it possible for Bulimia Nervosa to manifest as the result of imbalanced brain chemistry? In other words, to make up for a chemical that the brain is not adequately producing, is it possible for one to crave excessive calories (sugar, carhohydrates) ? Or, do you believe that binge eating is purely emotional? I am clinically dianosed with bi-polar disorder as well as bulimia. I notice that when I am experiencing manic and/or depressive episodes (typically when I am not taking medication), I crave sugar and find that I binge at alraming levels. It is difficult for me to accept that my binges are purely emotional. I feel that my need to binge is a physical compulsion that I cannot control, which leads me to believe that it is the manifestation of defective brain chemistry; however, I am not a Dr. Therefore, I seek expert advice.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., May 19, 2009 08:11PM
, May 19, 2009 08:11PMTo: Lindsela
Although sweets do indeed have a chemical effect on your brain, it does not explain excessive binging...sorry, but the hunger you experience as real is what I call phantom hunger...yes, it feels real, but in every case I have treated or analyzed, that powerful irrestible urge turned out to be a disguised form of feeling powerless......you can learn more about this by reading my book or taking the 12 program at shrinkyourself.com
