Psychologically-based, this cycle seems to be growing exponentially. It may explain why obesity rates are soaring. After an episode of binge eating, oftentimes the binger feels a loss of control, shame, and guilt. People feel pressure from society, the media, or family members to achieve bodily perfection. In their desperate quest to achieve an unattainable standard, they refrain from eating and deprive themselves often. Eventually, desires and cravings become too difficult to override, which usually leads to binges on unhealthy, fatty, sugary foods. The temporary aftereffect of this binge is a sense of relief; however, the subsequent feelings of shame and guilt lead to progressive drops in feelings of adequacy and self-esteem. There are many people who experience this cycle several times a week. Surprisingly, many of these people are perceived as very successful and attractive on the outside. However, internally they feel empty because restrained eating combined with binge eating has become their coping mechanism and obsession.
Restrain from eating to achieve thinness, “bodily perfection” → Feel deprived → Binge on “forbidden” foods → Short term feeling of
satisfaction → Long term feeling of shame and guilt and incremental
decrease in self-esteem → No good coping mechanism to effectively
deal with these feelings → Binge again to stuff away uncomfortable feelings of “failure”.
