Essay Sample on Addictive Behavior, Its Start and Evolution

Introduction

The addictive behavior to discuss is that of food addiction. My food addiction has been a result of a high appetite. I realized that I was addicted to food when I created a list of all the foods I have binged on, the ones I started eating but could not stop, there are foods that I feel I cannot live without, and I also spend a lot of time thinking about foods that I would like to eat. Such behavior is a sign that one has a food addiction, especially if the most common ingredients of these foods are flour, sugar, foods with high fat and salt as well.

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Food addiction evolved as I kept satisfying my cravings for foods with sugar and takeaway drinks. The evolution came with changes such as eating large amounts of food within a short time. I also found out that certain foods triggered binges such as fries and chicken because they are sweet, and anytime one is hungry, they will always crave fast foods.

As it is the case for other addictions, I could not control myself when it came to certain foods, no matter how hard I would try. An example is eating burgers; I had quite an appetite for cheese, and I had to eat one whenever I craved it; otherwise, I would be moody all day. Despite the urge not to, I repeatedly found myself eating large amounts of unhealthy foods even when I knew that doing so would cause harm to my body.

Negative and Positive Consequences of Food Addiction

There were absolutely no positive consequences of being addicted to unhealthy eating except for emotional satisfaction because I felt better after eating something that I had craved for in a long time. I felt bad if I thought that I would not eat ice cream or cookies. In other sectors, food addiction had negative consequences. Food addiction was left ignored, and untreated hence it began consuming my life, creating damage and also chronic symptoms.

Food addiction had physical effects, especially obesity. One gains a lot of weight from eating unhealthy food and not exercising (Fletcher & Kenny, 2018). I had no idea that I was adding weight until a family member had to comment that I have grown fat. Other physical effects that I experienced from food addiction included sleep disorders, where I mostly had insomnias during the night when I was supposed to be fast asleep. Without much sleep during the night, it would come during the day when I was supposed to be in school and doing constructive things.

Other physical effects of food addiction included digestive problems, headaches, and chronic fatigue. I also experienced the psychological effects of food addiction because it became debilitating to my mental health, especially after gaining much weight. Some of the psychological impacts included low self-esteem, depression, increased anxiety, feeling sad and hopeless, increase in irritability if I did not get access to my desired food and panic attacks.

Critical Self-Reflection

Food addiction impacted my social life and my relationship with family and friends. In most cases, one does not like to be told that they are gaining weight, they have become fat, or they are eating too much. I did not want anyone to say that to me, and I felt bad whenever my friends told me that. I had to isolate myself from my loved ones because I felt like it was too much pressure to handle. Food addiction led to me lacking enjoyment during my hobbies and the activities that I used to enjoy.

I avoided social events and functions because I could bump into someone I know, and they would blankly tell me how I had gotten fat. I was at risk of jeopardizing my career because I thought of avoiding school as well. Apart from the negative consequences of food addiction, I have also learned the importance of eating healthy and working out. I have understood how the body functions and that one does not need to eat everything but only a small portion when they are hungry.

How Food Addiction Impacted My Daily Living

Food addiction has impacted my daily living more so on my finance part. I have had to spend a large amount of food only because I have to eat more fast food that I like. Having to buy these foods often leads to straining the finances that are quite limited. With time, one learns that food addiction is a problem that does not resolve on its own most times. Unless I made a conscious decision to deal with it, it was to worsen over time.

Food addiction caused a boring social life for me because of gaining weight. It was when I had reached a point of obesity that I realized the need to eat healthily and the kind of body I wanted. It was boring not to see my friends because they would comment that I have fats all over my body and note the changes towards fatness.

Changes Already Made

I have made quite a lot of changes since I realized the consequences of my physical and psychological self. I sought appropriate help and cared that I needed by finding the resources to address my addiction to food in an effective manner. I sought help from a specialized food addiction treatment center that helped me in approaching the disorder in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

The food addiction treatment centers offered multi-specialty treatment that focused and addressed my nutritional concerns as well as including psychotherapy. I gathered knowledge about heating healthy and began going to the gym to exercise every single day. Having to eat healthily has been quite the hardest thing to do since I miss most junk foods that I am recommended not to eat if I want to achieve something.

Compare and Contrast Personal Experience with other people's experiences

My situation is quite similar to people who have been struggling with food addiction. Most people complain that they do not know how to deal with food addiction. One needs to know that it will be difficult to try to deal with food addiction on their own and that they definitely need support groups or treatment centers to help with it.

Food addiction is a result of people's mental or behavioral conditions; hence when it is the point to deal with it, there is a need for a complete lifestyle change (Toronto Central Healthline 2020). It is important to figure out the foods that one is addicted to because it is only then that they can abstain from them. One will start to see results in about a week if they continue abstaining from unhealthy foods because their food obsessions will start to diminish.

Has the global COVID-19 pandemic impacted Food AddictionCOVID-19 pandemic has affected my strategies to reduce food addiction because social places have been closed. I am unable to go to the gym because they have all been closed, and I fear that I may relapse and have slowed results. I have a target to reduce as much weight as possible as I couple it with healthy eating. I am able to maintain healthy eating because I have to cook, but I also miss going to the gym because that gives me the satisfaction I need.

Treatment Strategies that could be useful

Treatment strategies that would help one with food addiction include a 12-step program where an individual has to attend meetings with other people that are also struggling with food addiction (Lennerz, 2018). At the end of it, they get someone to help them with developing a dietary regimen that they can use to cut down all the unhealthy foods. It is important to include people that have similar experiences about food addiction to help one with recovery.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy would also be promising to treat eating disorders, especially binge eating. In such a case, one asks to be referred to a psychologist that has experience with food addiction and disorders of eating. Some commercial treatment programs could also play a significant role in treating food addiction as well as psychiatrists and drug therapy.

Even though the Food and Drug Administration has not given approval for any drugs to be used in treating food addiction, another option to consider as a strategy is a medication. It is not guaranteed that medications will work for eating disorders, and they also have side effects. Contrave is one drug that can assist in weight loss because it contains naltrexone and bupropion. An individual seeking to diminish their addiction to food should seek help wherever they will find it.

References

Fletcher, P. C., & Kenny, P. J. (2018). Food addiction: a valid concept?. Neuropsychopharmacology, 43(13), 2506-2513. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-018-0203-9

Lennerz, B., & Lennerz, J. K. (2018). Food addiction, high-glycemic-index carbohydrates, and obesity. Clinical chemistry, 64(1), 64-71. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5912158/

Toronto Central Healthline (2020). Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous - Toronto - Spadina Ave. TorontoCentralHealthline.ca https://www.torontocentralhealthline.ca/displayservice.aspx?id=152293