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“Brain Over Binge” – Binge Eating Disorder Book Review
Contributor: Wendy Hendry, Certified Health Coach and Guest Blogger for Eating Disorder Hope
“Brain Over Binge” by Kathryn Hansen is the best book I have ever read on food addiction recovery. She allows herself to be vulnerable as she describes her 6 years of binging and purging through obsessive exercise.
Traditionally, bulimia has been seen as a disease. Therapists and addiction recovery groups have taught that it is a way of coping with underlying emotional problems.
Kathryn Hansen realized that it wasn’t the emotional problems causing her binging, but it was the actual food urges. She knew if she could rid herself of the urges, she could rid herself of the binging. She learned that the urges come from the primitive part of our brain. She called it “the animal brain”.
“The Animal Brain”
It’s this part of the brain that controls our survival mechanisms. It tells us to breathe and our hearts to beat. It’s also in charge of sending hunger signals when our body needs food. By binging and then over-exercising, Kathryn stimulated this part of her brain to eat when food was available.
As she indulged in this behavior, she began to change the neuropathways of her brain and soon a habit was developed.
Eventually she came to understand that we can control the urges from our “animal brain” using the power of our pre-frontal cortex or “thinking brain”. It’s this part of the brain that separates us from animals, and it is much stronger than our “animal brain”.
“I knew my thoughts were not under my control, but my actions were,” she writes. “I found it infinitely more gratifying when I accepted responsibility for my behavior and chose to change it.”
Changing the Way We Think About Traditional Therapy
Kathryn obliterates traditional therapy and the 12-step approach. Their position of bulimia as a disease makes us into victims. Kathryn’s approach puts the responsibility back on to the individual. She was able to take control and abruptly stop her binging by separating her ‘thinking brain” from her “animal brain”.
She learned how to “speak” to her “animal brain” and quiet the urge. Soon the urges began to dissipate and when she decided to try and binge as an experiment, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t even fathom the idea.
My Experiences with Therapy
Like Kathryn, I struggled with binging for 35 years. I tried therapy and several 12-step groups through the years and was progressively frustrated by my inability to stop this destructive behavior. By the time I had finished the first part of Brain Over Binge, I knew I would never binge again.
Everything that Kathryn wrote resonated with me, and I was able to communicate immediately with my “animal brain”. Just as she described, my urges subsided, and today I, like Kathryn, can’t fathom binging.
Recommending the Book to Others
As a certified Health Coach, I have recommended Brain Over Binge to many of my clients. It has helped, not only those with binge issues, but those who struggle with every day self-control. This book can be a game-changer for anyone who struggles with addiction, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Wendy Hendry, Certified Health Coach (Villanova School of Nursing), Need help learning HOW to eat? www.HealthCanBeYours.com Call 801-372-0540
Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!
What are some of the good books you have read on Binge Eating Disorder? How have you found them helpful?
The opinions and views of our guest bloggers are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders.
These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.
Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on November 10th, 2014
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com
The EatingDisorderHope.com editorial team comprises experienced writers, editors, and medical reviewers specializing in eating disorders, treatment, and mental and behavioral health.
