Unhealthy Attachment to Overeating

I am responding to this week’s questions regarding my own unhealthy attachment to overeating.

How do I consider this substance/behavior pattern a beloved “friend”?

I began overeating when I was a child at around the age of 10 when there were times I was alone after school and feeling lonely. I would use food as a way to calm my anxiety or relieve boredom. When I was younger I noticed that when actual friends were around I was not quite as distracted by the food and I would tend not to overeat as much because I was busy with life, but by the time I was in my teen years, the addictive pattern was fully engaged and I would overeat whether I was around other people or not.

How is it sensual?

Because overeating involves food and the sense of taste it is naturally sensual. This was and continues to be overeating’s addictive appeal for me and why I need to be mindful of my eating.

How does this substance/behavior pattern provide “healing” or is it a “balm” to my emotional wounds?

The substance/behavior is absolutely balm to my emotional wounds in that I have a long history, as I said, in using overeating to deal with loneliness and anxiety. When I was 10 and I was alone after school that came at a time when my parents divorced and I was going through some difficult psychological issues. Over the years there continued to be times I used food as way to avoid uncomfortable feelings and situations. The overeating was definitely soothing and an escape from the distress I was feeling.

How my addictive substance/behavior pattern is “hated” — what has it cost me?

I have gained and lost many pounds over the years and had to deal with the embarrassment that goes along with large weight gains. My cholesterol has been very high, as well as my triglycerides. I have also paid a high cost in the self-absorption that comes with an addiction.

What might be a good resource or treatment method for a behavior change?

Overeaters Anonymous has been an excellent resource for helping me lose weight and achieve some semblance of physical, emotional and spiritual recovery. It is a 12-step program that is not easy to work but if I put in the effort, I do see results. I joined OA seven years ago and lost 67 pounds to get back down to a normal, healthy weight. I would definitely recommend it to those struggling with overeating. For those who have deeper emotional problems and need further support, individual counseling is also helpful as a supplement.

I would definitely consider myself in the camp that views process addictions as full-blown addictions. I believe this view results, in part, from my personal biases, which stem from my own struggles with overeating. I do not, however, feel that process addictions always hold the same power as substance addictions in terms of both the highs and withdrawal an individual experiences.

I would readily accept all of the process addictions our text identifies as the five most prominent to date: sex, gambling, working, compulsive buying, and food (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2012, p. 42); although, I think I would more easily accept sex and eating as more powerful addictions because they are more deeply rooted as basic human drives and I also believe they would more potently affect the limbic system.

They are many influences that shape my views of these processes, including family, religion, mainstream society, and ultimately my own values. However, I feel I am rather open-minded when it comes to addiction — I see both substances and processes as having the potential to become habit-forming in individuals to the point that they lose their freedom.

If I am honest with myself, I may be a little more likely to call something an addiction if I am uncomfortable with the behavior or view it as undesirable or unhealthy, but I would hope not by by such a degree that would feel repelled by a client for exhibiting such a behavior. I would also hope that I would remain objective in my clients’ cases and focus on how their behavior is interfering with their “ability to truly know themselves, their spirituality and the world around them” (Schaef, 1990, as cited in Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2012, p. 42).

A quote by May (1988), a psychiatrist and spiritual counselor who studied addictions, sums up my own attitude when it comes to the way I hope my own sense of morality will shape how I approach my clients’ issues. May states: “Finally, I realized that for myself and other people, addictions are not limited to substances. I was also addicted to work, performance, responsibility, intimacy, being liked, helping others, and an almost endless list of other behaviors … I also learned that all people are addicts, and that addictions to alcohol and other drugs are simply more obvious and tragic addictions than others have. To be alive is to be addicted, and to be alive and addicted is to stand in need of grace” (p. 9-11).

References:

Capuzzi, D. & Stauffer, M. D. (2012). Foundations of addictions counseling. (2^nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

May, G. (1988). Addiction & grace: Love and spirituality in the healing of addictions. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishing.

2/10/14

Prior to this week, I would have said I was more inclined use a humanistic approach combined with cognitive behavioral therapy and after viewing the web references I would say this is still true; however, the degree to which I relied on each will probably be in different measure. Behavioral therapy will now play a larger role due to information I have learned from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which indicates that such approaches are the “most commonly used form of drug treatment” (NIDA, 2012). Additionally, behavioral therapies often involve dealing with an individual’s motivation to make changes, and as such, I think motivational interviewing, is another excellent way to help clients with addiction no matter where they are in terms of readiness for change.

I feel my strengths in working with clients such as Sahira include my own struggling with addiction, both to alcohol and overeating. I have attended both Alcoholics Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous so I know what it’s like to deal with addiction; although, no two clients’ paths are ever the same and I would never presume to know what my client is experiencing. I am sure I would, however, feel a great deal of empathy for my client and want to help him or her as best I can. If anything I may overidentify with my clients and feel I need to rescue them, so I need to be aware of these kinds of feelings when they arise.

The areas I think I most need to work on will be staying abreast of new brain research, and incorporating that information into my work as a counselor. That field is generating new research all the time and because I have ADD, myself (which has resulted in a less than optimally functioning frontal lobe!), keeping up with the new data out there and using it to my clients’ advantage will be a challenge.

 

Reference:

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2012). Principles of drug addiction treatment: A research-based guide. (3^rd ed.) http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/principles-effective-treatment. Retrieved Feb. 10, 2014.

Hi, Everyone.

I am a graduate student who is finishing her second year in the clinical mental health counseling program at the Johns Hopkins University. I just started my practicum today at a methadone clinic in downtown Baltimore so this addictions class could not have come at a better time. I am really excited to learn this course material about addictions given the prevalence of chemical dependency in our society. Personally, addiction hits close to home; I gave up alcohol more than 16 years ago and have several family members who are alcoholics. I know firsthand that addiction is complex and deadly. As a counselor-in-training, I am eager to learn all I can to help others like myself who are struggling with mental health disorders, such as alcoholism and other, often co-occurring, conditions. I wish everyone the best of luck as we begin our semester!

Take care,

Patrice