Binge Eating As a Way of Taking Out Anger on Ourselves

Binge eating can be a way of taking out anger on ourselves when we feel we are not allowed to feel angry about other people.

When you overeat, you might be unknowingly expressing frustration through that eating.

We might be somewhat aware of the fact we are angry and who we are angry at, but we don't feel it’s ok to have anger.

We may feel guilty about it, like we are a bad person for feeling anger, and blame ourselves. This is particularly true about anger we might feel towards our parents and families, but can also be how we feel about any relationships or interactions.

This kind of expression with eating can also happen without you even being aware that you're angry at all.

Sometimes our anger is buried so deeply, and we are so used to detuning from it, that we don't even think our eating has anything to do with anger at all, nor do we feel we are angry at anyone.

Overeating can be an expression of anger or rage, directed towards yourself instead, because you feel you cannot feel it towards who you really feel it towards.

Often we pair the overeating with self-blame, where we judge our anger, tell ourselves we are ungrateful if we're angry at a parent, or that we are a terrible person, overreactive, volatile, and illogical.

We essentially gaslight and attack ourselves, all the while overeating, in order to avoid what we feel we are not allowed: anger at who we are really angry at.

Instead, we need to remove the judgement of our anger, allow ourselves to become aware of it, and let ourselves feel it properly.

This doesn't mean dumping it on others or attacking others. Rather, find places alone that you can really connect with the feelings, and express them fully.

I have personally had so much healing of my overeating by simply validating my anger, particularly at my parents, and letting myself feel it rather than living in denial, which was driven by guilt and self-blame and self-doubt.

Chances are that, especially with your parents, your anger is absolutely based on real things that happened to you and you are not overreacting in the slightest.

It is so important to honor your heart and your experiences by compassionately exploring your anger and taking it seriously as an invite to truth that can heal you.

Photo by Artiom Vallat via Unsplash