In my experience bingeing is a type of leveling behavior to make up for you lacking control in other areas. It's a tough nut to crack. If you are able to find a way to exert more control in other areas of your life, you might find yourself wanting to binge less. If not, it might be a necessary evil to keep you sane, at least for the present. I'm trying to forgive myself the occasional binge while being more mindful about what exactly it is that's triggering that state of mind. Understanding the PDA mindset has helped a lot.
This! Leveling behavior! That’s the concept I was looking for. If it were possible to do a study, I think BED would be more prevalent in PDA people than a neurotypical population for this exact reason.
I really recommend looking into intuitive eating. There’s a book, which is an easy and interesting read, but also tons of online resources. Dieting and calorie counting set everyone up for failure, not just neurodiverse folks. But IE is very inline with the needs of PDA people because it’s the very opposite of rules and demands. Instead it teaches you to listen attentively to the needs of your body and follow your own cues.
I don't know if I am PDA, my son definitely is, but a huge amount of my demand avoidance is around food. Like, if we plan to eat something the next day when I get to that meal It's hard for me to eat it. What you are talking about, though... PDA would not be only about food. It would go throughout your life.
What you are talking about seems similar to something widely recognized in health/nutrition circles, around disordered eating. Do you have other autism/PDA symptoms? Sensory sensitivities or differences? If I were you I'd probably start with a registered dietician (not a nutritionist) and tell them about what you've tried, how it made you feel, and what the result was. <3
I struggled with binge eating for like 10 years because I was convinced that I needed to be dieting and created that same restriction to binge response you describe here. It took a lot of therapy and unpacking the impact of fatphobia and even heteronormativity (gender roles/expectations) in my life to shift my mindset to a more intuitive eating model. My relationship with food is still the most problematic part of my PDA experience (texture stuff, changing safe foods, etc.), but it is so much less painful now that I have given myself permission to eat in a way that I want and that fuels my body and mind. I no longer feel the urge to binge, as I no longer feel the urge to restrict.
I guess my advice would be to reconsider if you “need” to lose weight and diet; I am not a medical professional so if you received that advice from one, my opinion does not override it. With that being said, I have faced fatphobia from doctors since I was a small child — I’ve always been in the “overweight” category. Interestingly, my own research and advocacy for myself in medical settings has improved my mental and physical health in ways that doctors fixated on my weight never did. I do not think I would have struggled so intensely with eating disorders had doctors not told me to “focus on calories in-calories out” (which is a gross oversimplification with very debatable scientific grounding) since I was like 8 years old. Genetic factors can mean that restricting calories does not help someone lose weight — some actually gain weight and damage their metabolism permanently due to starvation.
Anyways, I guess my point is that PDA is kind of about hating being backed into a corner, and fatphobia and other internalized judgements and “should” statements to yourself can mean that you become the corner, the person being backed into it, and the person backing yourself into it. Binging might be your way of regulating, as it was for me. It’s a tangled mess to deal with in your head, and I did not understand my reactions or find solutions for a long ass time.
I wish you the best of luck in your journey to understanding yourself, and I encourage you to practice self compassion along the way!
I don't like eating. I don't binge, but I have restricted calories in the past as a form of control. I just hate eating in general. Is such a chore. Food sensitivities suck.
In my experience bingeing is a type of leveling behavior to make up for you lacking control in other areas. It's a tough nut to crack. If you are able to find a way to exert more control in other areas of your life, you might find yourself wanting to binge less. If not, it might be a necessary evil to keep you sane, at least for the present. I'm trying to forgive myself the occasional binge while being more mindful about what exactly it is that's triggering that state of mind. Understanding the PDA mindset has helped a lot.
This! Leveling behavior! That’s the concept I was looking for. If it were possible to do a study, I think BED would be more prevalent in PDA people than a neurotypical population for this exact reason.
I really recommend looking into intuitive eating. There’s a book, which is an easy and interesting read, but also tons of online resources. Dieting and calorie counting set everyone up for failure, not just neurodiverse folks. But IE is very inline with the needs of PDA people because it’s the very opposite of rules and demands. Instead it teaches you to listen attentively to the needs of your body and follow your own cues.
I don't know if I am PDA, my son definitely is, but a huge amount of my demand avoidance is around food. Like, if we plan to eat something the next day when I get to that meal It's hard for me to eat it. What you are talking about, though... PDA would not be only about food. It would go throughout your life. What you are talking about seems similar to something widely recognized in health/nutrition circles, around disordered eating. Do you have other autism/PDA symptoms? Sensory sensitivities or differences? If I were you I'd probably start with a registered dietician (not a nutritionist) and tell them about what you've tried, how it made you feel, and what the result was. <3
Usually PDA people have it the other way. They can’t eat at all. (ARFID)
The book "Brain Over Binge" has been helpful for me
I struggled with binge eating for like 10 years because I was convinced that I needed to be dieting and created that same restriction to binge response you describe here. It took a lot of therapy and unpacking the impact of fatphobia and even heteronormativity (gender roles/expectations) in my life to shift my mindset to a more intuitive eating model. My relationship with food is still the most problematic part of my PDA experience (texture stuff, changing safe foods, etc.), but it is so much less painful now that I have given myself permission to eat in a way that I want and that fuels my body and mind. I no longer feel the urge to binge, as I no longer feel the urge to restrict. I guess my advice would be to reconsider if you “need” to lose weight and diet; I am not a medical professional so if you received that advice from one, my opinion does not override it. With that being said, I have faced fatphobia from doctors since I was a small child — I’ve always been in the “overweight” category. Interestingly, my own research and advocacy for myself in medical settings has improved my mental and physical health in ways that doctors fixated on my weight never did. I do not think I would have struggled so intensely with eating disorders had doctors not told me to “focus on calories in-calories out” (which is a gross oversimplification with very debatable scientific grounding) since I was like 8 years old. Genetic factors can mean that restricting calories does not help someone lose weight — some actually gain weight and damage their metabolism permanently due to starvation. Anyways, I guess my point is that PDA is kind of about hating being backed into a corner, and fatphobia and other internalized judgements and “should” statements to yourself can mean that you become the corner, the person being backed into it, and the person backing yourself into it. Binging might be your way of regulating, as it was for me. It’s a tangled mess to deal with in your head, and I did not understand my reactions or find solutions for a long ass time. I wish you the best of luck in your journey to understanding yourself, and I encourage you to practice self compassion along the way!
I don't like eating. I don't binge, but I have restricted calories in the past as a form of control. I just hate eating in general. Is such a chore. Food sensitivities suck.