At present I’m not being treated, so I don’t have a current therapist. I started being treated for this via my NHS GP in 2006 and received a diagnosis of ED-Not Otherwise Specified and was referred to CBT.
I ignored it.
I moved overseas, had a few sessions with a specialist in the US where Vyvanse had just been approved for BED…lost some weight, but ignored the underlying triggers and so when I stopped taking Vyvanse the weight came back. Shocking, I know.
Moved back and forth yet again, saw a few specialists on eating, worked with no fewer than three nutritionists, and generally used our BUPA policy to specialist hop for a while. When I could be bothered.
Finally it was a combination of my last bout of gestational diabetes in 2019, a few life events, and lockdown that made me turn it around. I finally started listening to the rules that had been given to me over and over: eat what you want, when you genuinely need it (physical hunger cues). Eat it in measured portion sizes. When you eat make sure it is something you genuinely are going to enjoy, not just what is in front of you. Don’t eat because it is a mealtime, or out of habit when in the car/on the school run/sitting around. Don’t be afraid to stop eating - the clean plate police don’t exist. Throw food away if you’re not hungry. And so on.
There was no request to change what I ate. Just how, and how much of it I ate.
if it sounds a lot like intuitive eating, there’s an awful lot of crossover there. But by going through it all, plus the DBT for the stress - mindfulness and learning to say no were a big part of it, as was emotional regulation. I have had two binges in the last sixteen months, lost six stone, and am generally a happier person now.
I wish it hadn’t taken 15 years to get here but I’m glad I did.