Anxiety and binge eating

What is anxiety?

While it's often portrayed in a negative light, anxiety is actually a natural feeling to experience. It's connected to the brain and body's "fight or flight" response, which kicks in when we perceive a threat or imminent danger.¹

That sense of worry, dread, fear, or apprehension over whatever threat we believe we're about to encounter is anxiety. Evolutionarily, it indicated that something was awry and helped the brain and body prepare to deal with whatever it was.¹

Unfortunately, the fight or flight response can be triggered equally by actual threats and ones we simply imagine.¹ These imagined threats, which often stem from a preoccupation with an unknown future, are what drive most anxiety disorders.¹

Anxiety symptoms

Regardless of the source of the anxiety, the experience can cause several psychological, physical, and behavioral symptoms, including:¹

These thoughts and feelings are often uncomfortable or unpleasant, and people who experience them frequently tend to develop coping mechanisms to help manage or mitigate them.²

These strategies can be conscious or subconscious and helpful or unhelpful. However, one of the more common coping mechanisms for anxiety is engaging in disordered eating behavior.³

Anxiety vs. stress

When understanding anxiety and binge eating, another important distinction to make is the difference between anxiety and stress. The two are often related, but they actually have different causes.

While  anxiety is a physical or mental reaction to a perceived threat taking place in an unknown future, stress is a physical or psychological reaction to an external cause happening in the present moment, sometimes called a stressor.⁴ Stressors can be a one-time or short-term occurrence or may happen regularly and repeatedly.

Another way to think about it is that stress is a direct reaction to something you experience, such as studying for a difficult test or arguing with a loved one. You can often name the source of your stress, whereas anxiety is more generalized and internal—a sense of impending doom, which is not necessarily tied to a specific situation.

Regardless, both stress and anxiety can result in similar symptoms, such as:⁴

• Uneasiness
• Excessive worry
• Physical tension
• Trouble sleeping
• Indigestion

As with anxiety, someone may also develop coping mechanisms to deal with the uncomfortable feelings brought on by stress.

What is binge eating?

Binge eating isn't just a synonym for overeating. It represents a specific form of disordered eating.

Binge eating episodes occur when someone eats a much larger amount of food over a certain period of time (usually considered two hours) than most people would eat during that window.⁵ They're also characterized by a lack of a sense of control over how much or what is eaten and involve at least three of the following features:⁵

Binge eating vs. binge eating disorder

Binge eating disorder (BED) certainly involves binge eating episodes, but the behavior is only one aspect of the condition, which represents a complex combination of psychological, physical, and behavioral complications.

To be officially diagnosed with binge eating disorder, someone must experience binge eating episodes at least one time per week for at least three months.⁵

But the disorder also involves many additional and recurring mental health concerns, including, in many cases, co-occurring anxiety disorders and stress related to binge eating.⁶

Anxiety and binge eating: What's the connection?

Binge eating is a relatively common response to anxiety.⁷ And there are many reasons—on a cultural, emotional, physical, and psychological level—why people may turn to food when experiencing such feelings.

One prevailing theory links binge eating with cognitive avoidance, or an attempt to avoid negative thoughts. The idea is that people eat excessively to stop thinking about the source of their anxiety, and research has supported this connection.⁷ Some people reported feeling dissociation or numbness during binging episodes, which could also be related to the lack of a sense of control that marks binge eating behavior.⁷

Other research has found that binge eating actually does reduce feelings of anxiety, at least in the short term.⁷ (In the long term, it's generally been found to increase negative feelings, such as guilt and depression.⁷) But this may have to do with how anxiety—and food—are processed in the body.

Anxiety is a product of the autonomic nervous system—the system in the body responsible for the fight or flight response. But it can be mediated, at least in part, by the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for "rest and digest" processes, which are activated by eating.^1,8 Eating can also release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that works against anxiety.^1,9 This is especially true when eating highly palatable foods—or foods high in salt, fat, and sugar—often connected to binge eating.⁹

Possible anxiety binge eating triggers

Many situations can trigger feelings of anxiety or stress. If you're concerned that these emotions are leading to episodes of overeating or anxiety binge eating in your life or for a loved one, it may be helpful to first identify these triggers.

Anxiety management strategies

Another way to help combat binge eating and anxiety is to address the anxiety directly.

Stress binge eating is a maladaptive coping mechanism. But several coping skills for anxiety can help alleviate the negative feeling in a healthier, more sustainable way, including:¹²

• Staying physically active
• Focusing on sleep hygiene
• Using meditation, yoga, or visualization techniques to relax
• Avoiding alcohol and drugs
• Quitting or cutting back on cigarettes and caffeine
• Journaling
• Socializing with loving, supportive friends and family
• Seeing a therapist or seeking out other types of treatment

For food-specific concerns around anxiety and binge eating, you can also try:¹³

• Practicing mindful eating
• Using a hunger/satiety scale to help differentiate physical hunger from stress
• Eating protein for breakfast to help you stay full and satiated throughout the day
• Drinking enough water
• Eating healthy, balanced meals and snacks
• Eating complex carbs, which are thought to raise serotonin levels and promote a sense of calm

Finding help for anxiety and binge eating

Binge eating and anxiety can be uncomfortable and unpleasant to deal with, on their own and together. But there are ways to help.

Following up your concerns with a therapist or other mental health specialist is a good place to start. They may be able to help you discover and address more specific triggers for binge eating episodes and help you work on alleviating other aspects of your anxiety disorder or chronic stress.

A nutritionist may also be able to help. They can offer advice on food and eating plans, which can help reduce binge eating episodes or cravings for certain foods that may trigger binge eating, especially during times of stress.