Binge Eating Disorder

What is binge eating disorder?

Binge eating disorder is when an individual feels compelled to overeat on a regular basis. It is usually accompanied by a feeling of being out of control during these episodes.

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Binge eating disorder symptoms

Binge eating disorder usually includes at least three of the following:

 

  • Eating extremely fast
  • Eating beyond feeling full
  • Eating a lot when not hungry
  • Eating in secret to hide the amount that is being eaten
  • Feeling terrible after a binge

 

In order to meet the diagnosis for the disorder, a person needs to binge eat at least once a week for three months.

Unlike other eating disorders like bulimia, binge eating doesn’t involve engaging in compensatory behaviours such as purging or the use of laxatives or over-exercising.

Frequently asked questions

If binge eating is beginning to interfere in your daily life (e.g. you’re spending a lot of money on food and many hours a day bingeing) or you’re beginning to rely on it as a strategy for managing difficult emotions, it’s important that you seek support.
Yes, it’s possible for people to oscillate between different types of eating difficulties. For example, sometimes they may engage in binge eating and at others, restrict their eating. When a person is struggling with disordered eating, the nature of the difficulty can manifest in different ways as well as change over time.

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Dr Elena Touroni

Dr Elena Touroni is a skilled and experienced consultant psychologist with a track record of delivering high-quality services for individuals with all common emotional difficulties and those with a diagnosis of personality disorder. She is experienced in service design and delivery, the management of multi-disciplinary teams, organisational consultancy, and development and delivery of both national and bespoke training to providers in the statutory and non-statutory sector.

Having obtained a first degree in Psychology (BSc) at the American College of Greece, she completed her doctoral training at the University of Surrey. Dr Touroni is highly experienced in the assessment and treatment of depression, anxiety, substance misuse, personality disorder, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, adjustment disorder and relationship difficulties. She works with both individuals and couples and can offer therapy in English and Greek.

She is trained in several specialist therapeutic approaches such as Schema Therapy for individuals and couples, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-based approaches and Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT).

Dr Touroni has held a variety of clinical and managerial positions including as Head of Service in the NHS. Further she has held academic positions for the University of Surrey and the Institute of Mental Health lecturing on specialist postgraduate Masters and Doctorate programmes. As well as holding a variety of NHS positions, Dr Touroni is the co-founder of a private practice in Central London that has been a provider of psychological therapy for all common emotional difficulties including personality disorder since 2002.

Dr Touroni has a keen interest in developing preventative approaches for psychological well-being and has been involved in the co-creation of bespoke wellness retreats for transformative change for the past 5 years. She is the founder and one of two directors of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic.