I find it annoying to no end when someone thinks they know my binge eating disorder, all by looking at my body, seeing me eat, or reading a blog article about my struggles. It never fails that someone gains a superficial amount of knowledge about me and decides that they know everything there is to know about me and my binge eating disorder. It would be wonderful if we could know all there is to know about a person based off of a few facts about them, but we can't. No one can. No one knows someone else's entire history based off of a few interactions with them.

Staying body positive when you have binge eating disorder can be difficult. I have binge eating disorder and it has hugely impacted what my body looks like and how I feel about it. I have starved myself to 160 pounds, I have binged myself to 315 pounds, and I currently sit at a comfortable 210 pounds after gastric sleeve weight loss surgery and a lot of education about health and self-acceptance. I'm doing my best to be body positive in spite of binge eating disorder.

If you have binge eating disorder then you know compulsive hunger. This is not just hunger. It's binge eating disorder's hunger. This need to eat is not average, normal, or everyday. It's an insistent, controlling, demanding order to eat food and not stop. Compulsive hunger is part of binge eating disorder.

Skipping meals is something that a lot of people do but skipping meals when you have binge eating disorder is not going to help you manage the disease. It seems like everyone has to skip a meal at one time or another, whether they're incredibly busy or they just forget to eat. But skipping a meal when you have binge eating disorder, as a long-term habit, is going to harm your body, not help it.

No matter who you are, whether you have binge eating disorder or not, you have witnessed or been the victim of body shaming. When you have binge eating disorder, however, body shaming can become internalized and a deeply-seated part of your illness. Body shame is everywhere in society and generally accepted when it comes to discussing larger bodies. But all hope is not lost.

How does alcohol impact binge eating disorder? How does binge eating disorder impact your alcohol intake? This is going to be different for all individuals. However, psychiatric illnesses sometimes come with an increased risk of addiction. This risk can become even higher if there is a comorbidity with other diseases. But when you have binge eating disorder, drinking alcohol to cope with food anxiety can be a problem.

Binge eating disorder is a real illness. Shocking, I know. Something in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V) (the manual for psychiatric disorders), something that doctors, therapists, and other mental health professionals have been working with, something that has medication for it, is actually a real illness. Take your time, if you need some. I know this might be really startling. But stay with me; binge eating disorder is a real illness..

When you have binge eating disorder you always have to be careful about what medications your take due to the medication side effects and your binge eating disorder. Some medications can have an impact on your metabolism or your appetite. Some can exacerbate symptoms from comorbid disorders that you have. In the end, everyone should be careful of what pills they take and what these pills can do to their bodies. But binge eating disorder and medication side effects are even more critical to consider.

Eating at a restaurant when you have binge eating disorder can become stressful and entirely too invasive. Everyone should have the right to eat what they want and how they want in peace. It shouldn't occur to others to question your dietary habits or problems, especially when you have no idea if the person you're talking to has an eating disorder. Here are some of my tips about eating at restaurants when you have binge eating disorder.

I had been discussing my binge eating disorder with a friend and they asked me if I could describe what a binge felt like, physically and emotionally. It took me a second to put my thoughts into words. Describing a binge to someone turned out to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. If only for the fact that you are describing mental illness and that takes a very discomforting amount of honesty to do. Here are my thoughts on what a binge feels like.