Reviewed by최연승대표원장
I tend to binge eat whenever I'm stressed. How can I resolve this?
Trying to resist through willpower alone often makes it harder. It is important to first identify why your body is experiencing 'false hunger' based on your specific constitution. A step-by-step approach is needed to balance the body and mind by treating the psychological hunger from a TKM perspective.
Binge eating is often not a matter of willpower, but a signal that the body's internal balance has been disrupted. From the perspective of Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), this process can be addressed in three stages:
1. Calming Heart-Fire (心火): Excessive stress leads to the accumulation of heat in the Heart. When this 'Heart-Fire' is not regulated, anxiety often manifests as an appetite for food, triggering binge eating.
2. Improving Spleen Deficiency (脾虛): 'Bi-heo' refers to a weakened function of the Spleen. When the energy (Qi) of the digestive organs declines, nutrient absorption becomes inefficient, causing the brain to send constant 'false hunger' signals.
3. Removing Phlegm-Fluid (痰飮) and Blood Stasis (瘀血): Phlegm-fluid (metabolic waste) and Blood Stasis (stagnant blood) hinder circulation and slow down metabolism. This creates a vicious cycle where the body bloats easily even with small amounts of food, leading back to false hunger.
Ultimately, these three factors must be managed according to your individual constitution to create a body that does not rely on food for emotional regulation. Rather than indiscriminate fasting, I recommend first identifying where the blockages in your body are located.