DR MARIANNE MILLER
CARING EATING DISORDER TREATMENT IN SAN DIEGO AND THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND WASHINGTON D.C. FOR ADULTS & TEENS
How Spirituality (however you define it) Can Help Binge Eating Disorder Recovery
Since I was a little girl, spirituality has always been a big part of my life. It has morphed and evolved over the years. I’ve grown and changed and learned how some of my former spiritual beliefs were oppressive and repressive to living my authentic self. Now that I’ve learned how to open up myself to a broader view of spirituality and let go of the elitism and limitations of some spiritual views, I’ve moved into a larger world of spiritual change and growth, which has both empowered and grounded me. Living in San Diego, California helped my eating disorder recovery because not only did I find an eating disorder therapist who really knew her stuff, I also felt connected spiritually to the ocean and to nature around me. Walking on the beach in California soothes my soul. Cultivating my spiritual self in San Diego accelerated my eating disorder recovery. Wherever you live, whether it be in Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, NYC, or London, you can recover from binge eating disorder completely by tapping into spirituality, however you define it.
Cultivating Calm in Colorado When You Have Binge Eating Disorder During the Holidays
Finding calm moments can help ground yourself as you work through your binge eating issues. When you are in Colorado over the holidays, it’s important to create space for such calm as you navigate life while struggling with food, eating, and body image. Whether you live in Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs, or up in the mountains, it’s vital when you have binge eating disorder to take time to pause, connect with nature, and foster self-compassion. I’ve outlined five places in Colorado where you can ground yourself and cultivate calm. I’ve included a Takeaway Tip with each to help you get to where you need to be!
My Binge Eating Recovery Story
It’s time to get real, folks. I’m going to talk about how binge eating is part of my eating disorder recovery story and how I overcame binge eating to live a full life in San Diego. It may be a little controversial, it may feel a little emotional, and I’m going to dive in and share anyway because it is so important for me to let you know that you CAN recover from binge eating.
Overcoming Binge Eating with Eating Disorder Dietitian Kathleen Meehan, MS, RD
You’ve probably noticed that I’m talking about binge eating a lot lately. One reason is because I see so many people suffering from binge eating in my San Diego practice. Binge eating disorder (BED) is when you have uncontrollable urges to eat typically large amounts of food in a short amount of time. Often disassociation and a sense of detachment occurs during the binge. Afterword, you feel overwhelmed with shame and self-loathing. You promise yourself you’ll never do it again, and then you do. It’s such a difficult way to live. Binge eating has nothing to do with willpower, and it isn’t a moral issue. Binge eating disorder is a brain disorder, and you can get treatment for it so you can live a free and fulfilling life.
How My Freedom from Binge Eating Class Can Help You Redefine Your Relationship with Food and with Your Body
You struggle with binge eating or emotional eating in San Diego or elsewhere. You eat “right” during the day, and then as soon as you get home (or as soon as you put the kids to bed), you head to the refrigerator and the pantry to begin eating. At first you feel relief—like you’ve been holding your breath all day and can finally let it out and gulp in fresh, clean air. Then the numbness or detachment settles over you. It is a welcome respite from the pent-up stress, frustration, and anger. You don’t end the binge until you feel really, really uncomfortable—then the shame seeps in. You can’t believe you did it again. You had promised yourself that you would never binge again—that you would follow your diet or meal plan perfectly and give up binging once and for all. Yet here you are, feeling nauseous, extremely uncomfortable, and hopeless.
Battling Binge Eating? Amy Ornelas, RD on How Eating Disorder Dietitians Can Help
Grappling with binge eating in San Diego is so freaking hard. It consumes your waking thoughts and hijacks your brain. All you want to do is enjoy your life and see the amazing sights in San Diego and elsewhere, but you just can’t seem to turn off the obsessive thoughts, the constant urges, and the shame—and there can be so much shame. I have worked many years with San Diego eating disorder dietitian Amy Ornelas, RD. She is SO GIFTED at what she does—it’s like magic how she helps people recover from binge eating. Check out her approach to binge eating in this interview!
Binge eating? Three Questions to Ask Yourself from a Binge Eating Therapist.
Struggling with binge eating? Having more urges to binge since COVID hit? Or, has it always been there, lurking in the background, ready to pounce when you’re feeling especially tired, stressed, or overwhelmed. It’s so hard to deal with binge eating in San Diego and elsewhere. Regardless of whether you meet the criteria for binge eating disorder or just grapple with binge eating every once in a while, it really sucks. Sure, there may be initial relief and numbing out from stress, but after a while discomfort, guilt, and shame can set in, which is so challenging. To help you figure out what to do if you struggle with binge eating, I’ve outlined three questions to ask yourself to get you on your way.
Struggling with Binge Eating During COVID-19? Five Tips for Getting Help
Do you feel stuck at home in San Diego and elsewhere, watching the news on COVID-19? Perhaps you’re filled with fear as you see the number of cases and deaths rise. Your kids may be climbing all over you or running around the house, screaming like banshees. You feel overwhelmed, isolated, and alone.
Do you feel flooded with anxiety, trapped, and you don’t know where to turn? Your eyes might drift to the stacks of food, knowing that if you start eating, you can get some temporary relief. You may even wait until everyone goes to bed to start eating so no one will know. When you do binge, does it seem like you’re detaching from your problems and numbing out?
Afterward, you might feel shame, regret, and disgust. You promise yourself that you’ll never do it again. The next morning, you may even limit your food. Then the anxiety and hunger build throughout the day, and you could end up binging all over again. You aren’t able to see an in-person eating disorder therapist or seek eating disorder treatment. What can you do to get help with your binge eating?
What to Do When You Feel Like Binge Eating
Feeling the urge to binge eat? Does it sneak up on you after work or school when you’re feeling bored, sad, or lonely? Or, does the urge hit you like a tsunami, and you feel flooded, like you’re out of control and you can’t stop your actions. Either way, binge eating can cause a lot of distress, disgust, and shame. It is so painful to live in sun-drenched San Diego and elsewhere while struggling with binge eating. While people are at the beach having fun, you feel trapped and filled with despair.
Learning how to manage the urges to binge eat can be your first step into freedom from this all-consuming behavior. In many ways, binge eating is an avoidance strategy. Eating disorder therapists in San Diego and around the world often consider binge eating as maladaptive coping mechanisms for distress. That means that when you binge eat, you’re trying to help yourself feel better, but it can end up making your life worse. Here are some tips to help you deal with the urges. The these strategies come from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).