About food addiction
Binge eating often develops into a repeating cycle of strict dieting, intense hunger, emotional distress, and loss of control around food. After a binge-eating episode, individuals may experience guilt and shame, leading them to skip meals or severely restrict food in an attempt to regain control. However, excessive restriction can increase physical hunger, emotional exhaustion, … Read more
Support groups can be a game changer when it comes to feeling seen and understood. When you join, you’re probably hoping you’ll find real connection and shared experience. But sometimes, even with regular meetings and a packed roster, a support group can feel strangely empty. I know I’ve sat in a circle (in person or … Read more
In a culture filled with weight-loss advertisements, edited social-media images, diet trends, and pressure to achieve a certain body type, some people may believe that severely restricting food is the fastest way to become thin. But starving yourself is not a safe or sustainable weight-management strategy. Severe food restriction can deprive the brain, heart, muscles, … Read more
Recovery from alcohol addiction can feel overwhelming, especially during the early stages of sobriety. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) provides a peer-based recovery community built around shared experience and the Twelve Steps. Within this fellowship, one relationship can become particularly important: the relationship between a sponsor and a person seeking recovery. An AA sponsor is not a … Read more
The foods we enjoyed as children often become connected to memories, emotions, and comfort. An after-school cookie, candy for good behavior, chips during television time, or ice cream after a difficult day may seem like simple childhood experiences. Yet repeated patterns can teach the developing brain to associate certain foods with pleasure, reward, comfort, and … Read more
Someone may experience unpleasant symptoms at much lower amounts because of body size, medications, medical conditions, pregnancy, genetics, sleep deprivation, or individual caffeine sensitivity. Caffeine also comes from more than energy drinks. Daily intake can quietly accumulate through: Someone who drinks coffee in the morning, uses a pre-workout supplement before exercising, and reaches for an … Read more
Nightmares can feel unusually vivid during active addiction and recovery. A person may dream about drinking or using drugs, being unable to find a substance, returning to an old environment, overdosing, being chased, losing control, or relapsing after months or years of recovery. These dreams can be frightening, but they do not automatically reveal a … Read more
We all seem to know someone who can eat pizza, desserts, fast food, and large meals yet remain thin. Meanwhile, another person may feel that even small changes in eating habits affect their weight. It can be frustrating, but body weight is far more complicated than simply having a “fast” or “slow” metabolism. Genetics, appetite, … Read more
People living with addiction are often told to “just quit,” “try harder,” or “have more willpower.” Although motivation and determination are valuable parts of recovery, overcoming addiction involves much more than simply choosing to stop drinking or using drugs. Substance use disorders can affect brain systems responsible for reward, motivation, learning, stress, and self-control. Over … Read more
“Why can’t you just stop?” is a question many people struggling with addiction hear, yet it overlooks the challenges involved in changing compulsive behaviors. To someone on the outside, quitting alcohol, drugs, nicotine, gambling, or another addictive behavior may seem like a matter of making a firm decision and sticking to it. When negative consequences … Read more