DR MARIANNE MILLER
CARING EATING DISORDER TREATMENT IN SAN DIEGO AND THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND WASHINGTON D.C. FOR ADULTS & TEENS
Binge Eating Disorder & Alcohol Use: The Neuroscience Behind the Overlap
Binge eating disorder (BED) and alcohol use often intersect in ways that are both behavioral and neurological. Both conditions involve patterns of impulsivity, emotional regulation, and coping mechanisms, with similar effects on the brain’s reward system. For many, the two can become intertwined, creating a cycle of bingeing that involves both food and alcohol. Understanding the neuroscience behind this connection can shed light on why these behaviors co-occur and how they can be treated effectively.
How Does Binge Eating Disorder Differ from Bulimia Nervosa?
Fighting binge eating in San Diego is hard enough. Struggling with urges to get rid of the food afterward adds another challenge. When binge eating or bulimia is present, it’s more difficult to grab life by the horns and hang on for a wild, fun ride. As I’m siting in my office in San Diego, California, listening to the baby birds chirp in the nest outside my window, I’m thinking about how binge eating and bulimia really hijacks people’s lives. Whether you live in California, or anywhere else in the world, I hope that my message is coming directly to you—the message that both binge eating disorder and bulimia are complex brain disorders. They have similarities and differences. Despite how hard it is to have bulimia and binge eating disorder, people CAN recover from both of them. I promise.