Bipolar dysfunction, a psychological well being situation that entails distinct shifts in temper, impacts 4.4% of American adults in some unspecified time in the future of their lives.
With bipolar dysfunction, you may expertise:
- episodes of melancholy, or intervals the place you’ve got a “down” or low temper
- episodes of mania or hypomania, or intervals the place you’ve got an “up” or elevated temper
- each kinds of episodes
Along with the temper episodes that characterize the situation, you may discover different signs, together with modifications in your sleep patterns and urge for food.
Roughly 30% of individuals with bipolar dysfunction additionally expertise episodes of binge consuming, which entails consuming a really great amount of meals in a brief time frame and sometimes feeling unable to cease consuming.
Experts aren’t but sure what makes binge consuming so frequent amongst individuals with bipolar dysfunction, however they’ve provide you with a number of potential explanations. Read on for extra particulars, plus tips to search out assist.
Binge consuming can happen by itself, or it will probably occur as a symptom of an consuming dysfunction similar to binge consuming dysfunction (BED) or bulimia nervosa.
Binge consuming dysfunction (BED) vs. bulimia nervosa
BED entails a sample of binge consuming that occurs on a weekly foundation for a minimum of 3 months. Around 2.8% of adults may have BED of their lifetime.
Bulimia nervosa entails each binge consuming and purging. After a binge consuming episode, individuals with this situation purge to do away with the surplus energy, sometimes by inducing vomiting, taking laxatives, fasting, or exercising to an excessive. About 1% of adults may have bulimia nervosa of their lifetime.
People with a bipolar dysfunction analysis are more likely to have an consuming dysfunction than the overall inhabitants. The reverse can be true.
A systematic review of 47 research with 30,230 complete members discovered:
- 12.5% of individuals with a major analysis of bipolar dysfunction additionally had BED.
- 9.1% of individuals with a major analysis of BED additionally had bipolar dysfunction.
- 7.4% of individuals with a major analysis of bipolar dysfunction additionally had bulimia nervosa.
- 6.7% of individuals with a major analysis of bulimia nervosa additionally had bipolar dysfunction.
Bipolar dysfunction and consuming issues have a number of issues in frequent. Both circumstances:
- have a tendency to begin in adolescence
- have a cyclical course
- might contain fluctuating power ranges, emotional reactivity, and modifications in consuming patterns
In reality, binge consuming conduct sometimes seems around the same time as your first temper episode, although the precise order of their look doesn’t appear to affect outcomes very a lot.
One situation might have an effect on the opposite
If you’ve got each circumstances, you could have a more durable time managing feelings than you’d with both situation alone. You can also discover more severe anxiousness or impulsivity signs.
Mood episodes can even set off episodes of binge consuming.
For some individuals, binge consuming may happen more often throughout episodes of mania than episodes of melancholy.
In quick, mania might increase emotions of impulsivity and your urge for food. Depression, in the meantime, may make your urge for food disappear. You may lack power to arrange meals, and the very considered consuming might depart you feeling nauseated.
But the reverse sample can even happen. You may neglect to eat throughout an episode of mania and expertise intense cravings for sure meals throughout a interval of melancholy.
Because of the interplay between the 2 circumstances, some researchers consider “bipolar disorder with eating disorder” needs to be a diagnosable subtype.
Potential theories to elucidate the hyperlink between bipolar dysfunction and binge consuming embody:
Genetics
Part of the connection might relate to shared genetic elements. Both bipolar dysfunction and binge consuming have been linked to variations within the PRR5-ARHGAP8gene. This gene influences many processes in your physique similar to serving to you regulate meals consumption or protecting your power ranges steady.
Heritability research assist this discovering: In reality, an older 2014 study discovered ladies are twice as more likely to develop an consuming dysfunction if one father or mother had bipolar dysfunction.
Brain-derived neurotrophic issue
Brain-derived neurotrophic issue (BDNF) is a molecule that serves many features within the mind, together with serving to regulate each temper and urge for food.
During a temper episode, you’ll sometimes have decrease BDNF ranges than typical. This drop can result in emotional disruption and irregular meals consumption, particularly when you’ve got an consuming dysfunction. Research has straight linked lower BDNF levels to binge consuming in individuals with bulimia nervosa.
The fluctuation might assist clarify why temper episodes can set off binge consuming.
In each bipolar dysfunction and consuming issues, BDNF ranges are inclined to rise after remedy.
Medication unwanted side effects
Some bipolar dysfunction medicines might play a component, as properly.
Antipsychotics, as an example, might lead to binge eating or compulsive consuming behaviors as a result of long-term publicity to those medicine can lower your physique’s capacity to acknowledge fullness. These medicines can even enhance exercise within the elements of your mind related to anticipating meals rewards.
Mood stabilizers usually don’t trigger binge consuming straight, however a few of them could cause weight achieve. If this aspect impact considerations you, you could attempt to counteract it by limiting your meals consumption — which can, in some circumstances, immediate a cycle of bingeing and purging.
Self-soothing
For many individuals, meals ties into emotions: It can provide consolation, spark pleasure, or set off a way of disgrace.
If you’ve got a temper dysfunction that impacts your feelings, you might also end up utilizing meals to counteract undesirable emotional signs.
Participants in a 2021 study reported the next motivations for non-hungry consuming:
- to really feel extra in management, particularly if that they had speedy shifts in temper
- to deal with depressive signs similar to fatigue and anhedonia
- to consolation themselves when pressured
Trauma
Trauma is a recognized threat issue for each bipolar dysfunction and disordered consuming behaviors, particularly binge consuming. An older 2013 study included 717 adults, together with 68 individuals with each bipolar dysfunction and BED. Roughly 45% of this subgroup additionally had post-traumatic stress dysfunction (PTSD).
The same 2022 study checked out teenagers and younger adults who had bipolar dysfunction. Among these with a co-occurring consuming dysfunction, round 1 in 5 had PTSD.
FYI
Existing analysis on binge consuming and bipolar dysfunction largely entails individuals receiving remedy for extreme signs, and other people with bipolar I dysfunction are overrepresented in these research.
Experts have but to find out if individuals with bipolar I dysfunction are literally extra more likely to expertise binge consuming than individuals with bipolar II dysfunction, or in the event that they merely get remedy extra usually.
Learn the distinction between bipolar I and bipolar II dysfunction.
People with each bipolar dysfunction and BED usually have more severe symptoms, together with:
Bipolar dysfunction, in flip, might have an effect on the severity of consuming dysfunction signs. People with each circumstances are inclined to have worse scores in measures of:
- impulse regulation
- consciousness of starvation and fullness cues
- physique dissatisfaction
- concern about weight
- concern about consuming habits
Without a doubt, extra extreme signs can enhance the influence of those circumstances in your quality of life. Food-related duties, similar to shopping for groceries or making ready meals, might turn out to be a supply of misery. Relationships, too, can turn out to be overwhelming or tense when family members don’t perceive what you’re going by way of.
Maybe you spend a whole lot of time and power making an attempt to keep away from binge consuming or forestall temper episodes. But you could not at all times discover this potential as a result of willpower alone can’t deal with psychological well being signs. After an episode, you may end up expending much more power making an attempt to navigate emotions of self-frustration, failure, or different emotional misery.
Having each circumstances can also increase your chances of growing bodily well being considerations.
Any of those considerations could be tough sufficient to deal with on their very own, so managing a mix of signs might really feel fairly exhausting. But remedy can go a great distance towards bettering signs and, in flip, your on a regular basis life.
Because binge consuming and bipolar dysfunction have an effect on one another, it’s essential to deal with each points in your remedy plan.
For bipolar dysfunction
Bipolar dysfunction remedy usually entails a mix of discuss remedy and drugs. If the unwanted side effects of medicine contribute to binge consuming behaviors, you may discuss with a psychiatrist or physician about making an attempt a medicine much less more likely to trigger these unwanted side effects.
Learn extra about remedy choices for bipolar dysfunction.
For binge consuming
Treatment for binge consuming tends to lean extra closely on remedy than medicine. A therapist may go with you to:
Eating dysfunction assist teams can also play a component in restoration.
How to get remedy for BED.
Can medicine deal with binge consuming?
Some individuals might use the drug topiramate to halt medication-related weight achieve or reduce binge eating behaviors.
However, topiramate is accepted to deal with epilepsy and migraine assaults, not weight reduction, and it will probably trigger severe unwanted side effects. It’s usually reserved for circumstances the place different therapies haven’t labored.
For each circumstances
Though loads of research have thought-about bipolar dysfunction remedy and binge consuming remedy, virtually no research has explored treating the 2 circumstances collectively.
Studies analyzing the connection between bipolar dysfunction and meals sometimes give attention to weight problems and weight reduction, not binge consuming. What’s extra, BED remedy trials usually exclude individuals with bipolar dysfunction, partially due to how medicines for bipolar dysfunction can have an effect on weight and urge for food.
However, current research have supplied a glimmer of perception into efficient therapies.
In the small 2021 study talked about above, some members with each bipolar dysfunction and an consuming dysfunction praised dialectical conduct remedy (DBT) for serving to them cope with stress within the second.
Some members discovered cognitive behavioral remedy (CBT) much less efficient, though this strategy has proven promise for helping reduce melancholy for individuals dwelling with BED.
Many individuals with bipolar dysfunction expertise episodes of binge consuming. Experts consider a variety of things past your management, from genetics to trauma, might play a component within the relationship between the 2.
Whatever the trigger, co-occurring bipolar dysfunction and binge consuming can contain a posh mixture of signs, and these circumstances require holistic care.
When on the lookout for skilled assist, it’s essential to construct a care workforce that listens to your considerations and works with you to search out the simplest remedy strategy.
Emily Swaim is a contract well being author and editor who focuses on psychology. She has a BA in English from Kenyon College and an MFA in writing from California College of the Arts. In 2021, she acquired her Board of Editors in Life Sciences (BELS) certification. You can discover extra of her work on GoodTherapy, Verywell, Investopedia, Vox, and Insider. Find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.