(Food) Addiction and OCD

[Meggerz88]

I was wondering what sort of correlation there is between OCD and addiction...

For myself, I feel they are closely related. I have a food addiction. For those of you who don't understand, this is a very real and distressing addiction. I intensely crave sugary things to the point where I will binge on them, hide them in the house, purchase and eat them in private, and experience physical withdrawl when I try to abstain from them after going through a binging period. The other day I was actually so desparate to find something in the house that was sugary that I ate a mouthful of sprinkles before I realized how rediculous I was being and forced myself to stop... It is embarrassing and shameful. Sometimes I just cannot stop myself even though I know it is wrong and I don't even really want it.

I also highly suspect that I have OCD and at times it seems like my cravings for food and sweets are obsessive and I will compulsively buy things. It feels like the two problems are very much interconnected....

So is there anything that discerns a difference between these two dissorders or do they really feed off each other like it feels?

Does anyone else have this problem? If so, what have you done to try to stop yourself?

I have recently tried equiping myself with gum and chewing a piece whenever I have a craving. It helps sometimes, but often I forget... and once I get it in my head of how I am going to get my next fix, I can really stave it off with gum.

 

[Hellhound]

Have you tried drinking a lot of water or milk? When you feel like eating candy, drink milk until you feel full. That's what i do instead of eating junk food...

 

[Meggerz88]

I'm not sure if that would help... It is the need for sugar and the thoughts about it that make me cave... Even if I am not hungry.

 

[goldenapple]

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[LazyHermitCrab]

strawberrys and whipped cream ^.^

 

[Meggerz88]

The things is, I have lost a lot of weight in recent years through better eating choices and upping my exercise. I have actually lost over 125 lbs, with some ups and downs. I know how to eat healthily and how good I feel when I do, but I always have relapses of compulsively needing sweets. I have been going through a very bad spell of it recently.

Healthier sweets like strawberries and whipped cream could be good, but I would probably over do it anyway. I have also tried bringing one of my favourite protein bars around with me, so I can feel like I am having a treat when I feel like I need it. This works sometimes, but others it is just not enough to satisfy my craving.

Food addiction is hard... we have to eat.... it is like telling a chain smoker that they have to smoke only three cigarettes a day to live, but can't have any more.... I hate it and wish I didn't have this problem.

 

[Newestnewbie]

Hello Meggerz88,

Thank you for sharing your story! According to my therapist, there is a theory that OCD actually is an addiction. It is strange but I can definitely see the correlation. For example, I obsess over coffee until i get it in my hand. Sometimes, even if I have homemade coffee, I still have to go buy it to really feel satisfied. It's about the taste and the routine. Sometimes, even after I have purchased and drank the coffee, I crave another one and think about going back for another. All this, while I am super poor.

I have a shopping obsession in addition to this problem, where I am often browsing for purchases online and think about something I want (even dream about it). As with gambling addictions, these problems are not considered obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms. At the same time, they may fall into the overarching problem of addiction.

I cannot relate perfectly to your eating disorder. But I do eat a lot of unhealthy foods and weigh a lot!

 

[Meggerz88]

Thank you for your response Newestnewbie. It is interesting that your therapist said that. I know that the feelings I get when I can't shake thoughts of having sweets until I have them are very much the same as when I obsess about something else until I act on it. I guess it just seems to me that there must be a very close relationship between addiction and OCD. I would imagine that a lot of people with OCD are very susceptible to addictions as well.