Scribblings of a Psychotherapist

#FridayFacts
Every Friday we'll post some 'facts' and information about mental health. This week's facts focus on 'myths about feelings and emotions'. Please see the picture below. EXTRA INFO: Emotions are something that we all experience, and yet so many people misunderstand or apply judgements against them. Misunderstandings sometimes lead to individuals being mocked, shamed or dismissed for feeling and expressing emotion (or for not publicly expressing emotions, especially in times of grief). There are numerous myths or misunderstandings about emotions that lead to people feeling they need to bottle everything up inside or not express themselves, but that can just lead to things building up inside of us over time. And what happens when something is held in and builds up and up and up? Eventually it explodes! This explosion can come in the form of tantrums, tears, anger or even violence, and unhelpful coping techniques. If you are have some feelings or emotions …

This week's #MondayMotivation focuses on control.

Some words on feelings of uncertainty, unknowingness, anxiety, fear and being out-of-control. Because we know many of you are feeling these things. Amidst the panic and anxiety surrounding the current COVID-19 situation is the sense of feeling trapped, out-of-control or even helpless. However, many of our current and previous clients feel these things all/most of the time, pre-and-post COVID-19. These are some of the feelings our clients, and those getting in touch about accessing therapy, are expressing. They may assert that some behaviours, such as restricting doo or exercising (and many other things) helps them cope and feel a little more in-control in the short-term; however, they also recognise that these safety and avoidance behaviours really only increases their sense of things feeling out of our control, in the ling-term. I think there are 2 things to consider that can help us surf through these waves of uncerta…

Focus on..... Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
Binge Eating Disorder or BED is often characterised by someone consuming very large amounts of food over short period of time, even if they are not hungry. Although, we often see another form of binge eating that is characterised by an almost constant 'grazing' of food, which may amount to a large volume of food over time.
BED is almost 2x as common in women than in men, although gender differences are less pronounced than in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. BED has been found is all cultures and ethnicities.
BED was formally classified in 2014 as distinct Eating Disorder and now has formal classification in DSM-5.
Keeping in mind that everyone experiencing BED is different and BED may present differently (we are all different and unique, after all!), some of the signs and symptoms of BED include:
* Feeling out-of-control when eating during a binge episode. * Often hiding food (before it has been eaten or hiding empty packets after i h…