YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Hi there. I'm wondering if there are other peeps on here who have/engage in Night Eating Syndrome. Typically, the vicious cycle goes like this: restrict all day, then eat more than 50% of your daily caloric intake for supper, which tends to be later than average, then perhaps eat or snack more till bedtime, as well as eating when waking up in the middle of the night. Then, because I've eaten in the middle of the night, I'm not hungry for breakfast, and so the cycle continues.

I go in stretches where I don't eat upon midnight waking at all, which is good, and my disordered eating is much less severe than it has been in the past, but the night eating habit is still a problem. Has to do with self-soothing and a childhood where eating was linked to feelings of shame and body shame. (Thanks, Mom!) Because it edges upon the symptoms/behaviours of bulimia as well (which I've also dabbled in) i.e., restriction and private quasi-binging, it's typically categorized as an "ED(NOS)".

Anyway, I haven't seen anybody post about it here, so thought I'd bring it up and see if anyone out there is going through similar struggles...I'd love to hear your experiences.

Hello!

I've not heard of this, but I am glad you posted.

Food, while always good, gets almost magical after 10 pm for me, partly because it is so forbidden! Everything tastes great around midnight.

I am very glad to hear your report that your disordered eating is much improved. Well done!

While I can't say that I've struggled with disordered eating, I do often mistake food for love.

Thanks for sharing!