The Sin of Compulsion
You are at a fiesta, or a friend’s party. Never mind the people you might want to socialize with, or the ambience, or the music being played. Most of the time, you would head straight to the buffet table. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s human nature.
You gaze down at the rows of gourmet dishes waiting to rest on your plate; your eyes are about to droop; your mouth is salivating; you just can’t wait for your turn. Something possessed you that makes you want to cut the queue by pushing the people in front of you forward and let them fall down like dominoes.
If it’s a fiesta, most probably there will be the all-time favorite lechon (roasted pork), menudo, chicken afritada, valenciana (fried rice with coconut milk), adobo, spaghetti drenched in ketchup, pancit bihon/canton, biko (rice cake made of glutinous rice, sugar and coconut milk) and fruit salad; if it’s a classy buffet in a classy restaurant, most commonly present are tempura, sushi, different variations of pasta, crab, salmon, truffles, champagne, and sherbet. Never mind the setting; the similarity in both scenarios is that you’ll probably go on a feeding rampage.
Eating is a part of a life. Food is one of our basic needs in order to survive. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it ranks with water and air under the category “physiological needs” as the primary need of every human being. Since eating is such a pleasurable experience, people enjoy the comfort and happiness that every bite brings. It is inevitable. Even though you don’t want to eat, your body unconsciously tells you that you have to, come mealtime. As the process of metabolism goes on, eventually you will get hungry, thus the need to eat. This particular need, though necessary, is hedonistic in nature. You take pleasure in eating; you get satisfied. And who wouldn’t? Food was created to satisfy man’s cravings. Beware, though because gluttony is also one of the seven deadly sins.
Sometimes, even if we want to control ourselves from eating too much, the sight, aroma, and taste of particular foods tempt us to exceed our food limit. The result is stomachache, obesity, and a compulsive eating disorder.
There are people who just want to eat a lot when a barrage of foods is being paraded in front of them; others overeat because of deeply psychological problems. This is what is meant by Compulsive Eating Disorder.
When you have this disorder, you probably eat to relieve stress, escape emotional torment, boost your self-image and increase your self-esteem. Like bulimics, compulsive eaters are aware that they have this condition. Still, they eat as a means of escape. Somehow, food serves as a doorway that shuts and keeps the emotional baggage out of the system for a time being.
This condition can be fatal. Compulsive eaters are at risk of having hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, shortness of breath, and fatigue, among others. Psychologically, compulsive eaters become frustrated with themselves. They would want to get thin, and the more they try to go on a diet and fail, the more they will get disappointed. As such, they could fall into depression, which could turn into suicidal behavior.
The key idea here is that the weight gain cannot be corrected by simply dieting and shooting straight from what is visible. First, the underlying emotional problems must be analyzed and dealt with. Then, figure out ways on how to stop such compulsion.
Eating is supposed to be fun. However, there is not much fun when you’re in a hospital bed getting fed through your throat, and with five intravenous fluids dripping into your veins.
The next time you eat, think of your health. Know your limit. Choose foods that will give you more nutrition than fat, or sugar, or preservatives. For a better choice, go organic. Have a fresh salad. The beauty with the salad is that you can eat a lot and still remain healthy. Remember the golden rule, though: know your limit.