How to Support Someone with Binge Eating Disorder

Supporting someone with binge eating can be challenging, yet it could also be a very rewarding experience for both of you.

I would suggest approaching someone struggling with binge eating with the kindest care and compassion, in the same way you would extend to anyone you really cared about.

Understanding Binge Eating

Binge eating involves eating large quantities of food, often quickly and to the point of great discomfort and distress, without any real awareness of our actions, then there is inevitably a large dose of guilt and shame that is swallowed along with the food, causing the sufferer to spiral further down into a dark, dark space.  The person you care about often doesn’t know how they feel or what they need at any given time.  Eating that food just seemed to be the best answer at the time.

Recognizing binge eating as a coping mechanism, driven by strong and challenging feelings and perhaps being triggered by unresolved emotional issues will help you provide non-judgmental support.

The best thing you could do is help to create a safe space where the person you care about feels understood rather than judged. You could simply be a bright light in their life – by offering “Hey, I’m here if you want to talk…”

What would be so helpful is if you could encourage a basic vocabulary to assist someone to identify what they might be feeling and what they might be needing.  There are no right or wrong answers, but the person you care about would definitely feel your support in energy.

With Compassion

The word “compassion” comes from the Latin word “compassio” which literally means “to suffer with”.   So, compassion is sharing in someone else’s suffering and feeling a genuine empathy for them.

And the difference between empathy and sympathy is this – empathy is feeling for someone and sympathy is feeling sorry for someone.  

Instead of focusing on food and eating habits – because that is really unhelpful, try to engage in conversations around feelings and needs and ongoing self-care practices.

You could reassure the person you care about that they are not alone, many thousands of people have had eating issues in the past and they have also recovered from them, having developed a deeper understanding and a new sense of compassion for themselves.

Seeking Professionals to help

While your support as a friend would be invaluable, professional help can also be another option.  There is help available from people who specialize in treating eating issues.  In Brisbane, there are many resources and different styles of therapies that provide outstanding possibilities for each person to make their own unique choices – and there are so many new options now, including dance therapy, art therapy, equine therapy, and movement therapy, along with traditional styles of counselling.  Support to Stop Overeating provides “walk and talk sessions” starting with a sit down cup of coffee or tea.  This type of therapy can also happily double as a Meal Support session if desired.

Practice Self-care

Supporting someone with Binge Eating can sometimes feel overwhelming, and it’s essential that you take care of yourself too, by setting healthy boundaries in your relationship and continuing to engage in activities you love to do that replenish your energy.  By maintaining your well-being, you will be in the best possible place to support the person you love.

Conclusion

Being there for someone with binge eating requires a lot of patience, understanding, and empathy.   Even tiny gestures of support can create real and sustainable positive changes, because the effort you make then changes the energy in your relationship and you’ll both feel that and benefit enormously from it.

Feel free to check out all the resources available at Support to Stop Overeating