"I know what I need to do to [stop binge eating/emotional eating], I'm just not doing it." If I had a dollar for every time a client said that to me, I'd be a very rich woman. I'm here to tell you all the knowledge in the world probably won't be enough. I should know. I got my PhD in Clinical Psychology studying weight management and binge eating. And even after all of that, I couldn't solve my own binge eating and "weight issue". As I was binge eating and gaining weight, I thought all the time: * "I know what I need to do, I'm just not doing it." * "There must be something wrong with me." Now I know the truth. The truth is that there's something wrong with the system. Are you ready to stop binge eating permanently? If you feel: * Out of control or ashamed of your binge eating, emotional eating, or your weight, and * Are ready to take action with things that will actually help you stop the cycle This post is for you. Hey there. I'm Shawn Hondorp. I'm a clinical psychologist and I've studied the psychology of eating behavior since 2008. In this post I review the key things that helped me and so many of my clients stop binge eating permanently. F*ck Coping Start Healing I recently learned of a book called F*ck Coping Start Healing. It's about healing from anxiety (I haven't actually read it yet). But I love the title. Don't you? At this point in my life, I'm very tired of quick fix or the surface level strategies. During my 13 years of struggle with binge eating, I spent years trying surface level strategies that left me frustrated and tired. I had many periods of what the medical field would call "remission." During these periods, which lasted weeks or sometimes months, I wouldn't binge at all, or I would do so rarely. Or I would only feel slightly out of control. There was even a period of a little over a year where I felt really at peace with food and myself after I lost weight with Weight Watchers. I thought I was "cured." But it never lasted. Skipping the Band-Aid Solutions We may be able to help someone who is abusing alcohol to stop drinking temporarily by putting them in a rehab center or by removing all alcohol from their home and taking away their keys. But is that going to lead to long-term change? Probably not. We need to understand the root cause of the drinking to prevent it from happening again. It's Normal to Want the Quick Fix The desire for the quick fix makes perfect sense. Of course you want to do things that help you feel good now. Our brains are hard-wired to avoid pain and to seek comfort. When it comes to eating struggles, all of the following offer temporarily relief from pain: * Eating a big bowl of Lucky Charms and watching Bridgerton on Netflix* Skipping a meal because we are busy at work, and secretly thinking "good, hopefully I will lose some weight" and feeling in control* Planning a next diet or fitness effort Vulnerability is courage in you, and weakness in me Do you ever read what others write online and think,