Strategies for survival: women's experiences of binge eating

Abstract

Binge Eating Disorder is a provisional diagnostic label that is listed for discussion and future research in the appendices of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 4th Ed. DSM IV (APA 1994). Reclassification of diagnostic criteria has significant implications for conceptual understandings of eating disorders. This research aimed to explore information about Binge Eating Disorder (BED) from both a theoretical and personal perspective, and to reframe women's experiences with binge eating. The objectives were to identify the social context of binge eating, to consider women's experiences with binge eating and to critique "Binge Eating Disorder" as a diagnostic criteria. Eight Wellington women of European descent who self- identified with the provisional criteria were interviewed. Their dialogue and experiences were integrated into an analysis of contemporary issues, including provisional labelling of Binge Eating Disorder. The collective experiences of women living within a society that values "thinness" were noted and messages about gender identity explored. Analysis of systems that foster eating disorders and links between body image, and food were identified. The notion of eating disorders as pathological and the meaning of labelling was explored. Implications for practice were considered. Binge eating was reframed as a positive factor in women's lives and recommendations made for empowering women and challenging societal myths.