mental hunger

[meaotzu]

how do i deal with mental hunger?
ive had an eating disorder for all ive known, tried recovery had anorexia, othro, bullimia, bed bla bla you get the whole story. currently ive been eating a normal amount but my mental hunger has returned alongside my urge to binge. ive tried so hard to recover from bullimia and i just dont know how to get rid of the mental hunger . it feels like i can eat the whole kitchen. im trying so hard but im doing this all on my own. the stress of this and growing up is beginning to get to me and im starting to become depressed again. please if anyone can tell me how to get rid of mental hunger ill do it. im so desprate. ive even tried giving in and went on months of eating a lot of food, leaving me depressed, bloated and the mental hunger stayed.

[Elmer]

It sounds like you’d really benefit from professional help, if you can access it?

I’ve read that mental hunger/the urge to binge can stay even if you’re eating ‘a lot’, if you’re still mentally restricting - seeing food as ‘bad’ or judging yourself for eating. Things like promising you’re going to restrict or diet to make up for the food you’ve eaten. It can make the brain send signals that you’re about to enter a kind of famine, which in turn makes you obsessed with food even if you’re full.

A really good thing to try is just allowing yourself to eat, no judgement, no compromises, just go for it. There’s a few books out there, my favourite is ‘The **** It Diet’ by Caroline Dooner. She explains much more eloquently than I do and has recovered from disordered eating herself.

I hope some of that helps a little.

[Auror.]

It can also last if you're not eating enough and/or not eating enough of the right things too. There's a lot of reasons why it could still be occurring, none of which we're really equipped to handle here since we can't give medical advice.

Sounds like professional help could be really useful. Not just in terms of therapy, but seeing a medical doctor to check you don't have anything else going on and a dietician to help make sure you are actually eating enough.

[Elmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Auror.

It can also last if you're not eating enough and/or not eating enough of the right things too. There's a lot of reasons why it could still be occurring, none of which we're really equipped to handle here since we can't give medical advice.

Sounds like professional help could be really useful. Not just in terms of therapy, but seeing a medical doctor to check you don't have anything else going on and a dietician to help make sure you are actually eating enough.

All of this.

[Whalefall-Scavenger]

I dealt with something similar. Constantly mentally starving but physically never hungry or akways felt full. I went to a registered dietician with speciality In anorexia. I then got bloodwork done by my gp to check my levels. Turns out nutritional deficiencies were causing my stomach to empty incorrectly,,the dietician then gave a meal plan. Following the treatment helped shave away that mental preoccupation..I suggest you do the same. Keep eating but please see a doctor

[Pi.R^2]

Closing due to age. meaotzu, feel free to send me a message if at any point you would like this thread reopening!