Social support can make a big impact when dealing with food addiction. Finding people who share similar experiences and are willing to help can be beneficial to recovery. Overeaters Anonymous OA is the largest and most popular option, with regular meetings across the world. Greysheeters Anonymous GSA is similar to OA, except they provide a meal plan that involves weighing and measuring three meals per day. A psychological approach called cognitive behavioral therapy CBT has shown great promise in treating various eating disorders, such as binge eating disorder and bulimia 1.
When looking for a psychologist, ask to be referred to someone who has experience with food addiction or related eating disorders. Twelve-step programs are usually free, but several commercial treatment programs also offer effective treatments for feeding and eating disorders. This webpage lists numerous individual health professionals across the globe who have experience treating food addiction.
While the Food and Drug Administration FDA has not approved any drugs for the treatment of food addiction, medication is another option to consider.
That said, medications are not guaranteed to work for feeding and eating disorders and tend to have side effects. One drug to consider is approved by the FDA to aid weight loss and contains bupropion and naltrexone.
This drug directly targets some of the brain pathways involved in the addictive nature of food. Studies suggest that it may be effective, especially when combined with healthy lifestyle changes 2 , 3.
In many cases, depression and anxiety may contribute to feeding and eating disorders. Taking antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication could help relieve some of those symptoms 4.
Antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications do not cure food addiction, but they may be a useful tool to help ease symptoms of depression and anxiety.
There is an end to my hunger, and I reach it fairly quickly, as though I've washed up to shore after some time at sea. Food addicts, however, can feel like they are constantly drowning.
I've eaten multiple bags of cookies or chips," Patricia, who has been in Overeaters Anonymous since , told me. My head is telling me I can do it, that I can just take one bite. But I know just can't have just one. I'm not craving it until it goes into mouth, but once it goes into my mouth, I can't stop myself. There are several step groups for food addicts, a term which encompasses anyone from binge eaters to bulimics to obsessive-compulsives with a penchant for snacking.
But the list does not stop there. At this rate, there are likely thousands of smaller eating-related support groups unfolding across America at any given time, for people who are suffering from serious food-related mental illness.
However, though FA and others owe a large debt to AA, the different types of addictions they address can't truly be treated in the same way. It's not easy to give up, but it's easy to define and avoid it entirely," Patricia tells me.
And most of us can't get through three meals a day. At an FA meeting I attended at the Realization Center in New York City—a maze of meeting rooms painted a mossy, deep green that hold virtually any kind of support group you may need—copies of the Big Book, AA's bible, were being sold, as were Little Red Books essentially the SparkNotes of the Big Book , and thick meditation tomes of daily prayers and thoughts.
God, or a Higher Power as you choose to define it, is as instrumental here as it is in AA. You cannot find salvation until you give yourself up to him, her, or it. What is the CEA how food plan? How do you abstain from eating?
Here are 11 simple ways to prevent or stop unhealthy food and sugar cravings. Drink Water. Thirst is often confused with hunger or food cravings.
Eat More Protein. Distance Yourself From the Craving. Plan Your Meals. Avoid Getting Extremely Hungry. Fight Stress. Take Spinach Extract. Get Enough Sleep. What is a 90 day OA meeting? The Day Format meetings are a special focus group of Overeaters Anonymous.
OA as a national organization does not endorse any specific food plan, but many of the members in the focus group practice a particular program of abstinence which is known as the day format.
What is an OA how meeting? OA HOW is a movement within Overeaters Anonymous OA whose basic principle is that abstinence is the only means to freedom from compulsive eating and relief from the the obsessions of food addiction.
Our mission is to serve those who suffer from compulsive eating. What is an Overeaters Anonymous meeting like? A typical Overeaters Anonymous meeting is composed of men and women who share a common problem: compulsive overeating or an unhealthy relationship with food that manifests as an eating disorder. Some members have attended meetings for years, while other members are new to the program. Is Overeaters Anonymous religious?
OA is not a religious programme and does not subscribe to any specific religious ideology. It is a programme that practices spiritual principles, and members individually approach these principles with a Higher Power of their understanding.
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