The Binge Eating Disorder Programme is a 12 week programme (residential and day programme) offered as part of our specialist Eating Disorder service. This programme has been developed to increase participant’s knowledge and understanding of the factors involved in the development and maintenance of binge eating and associated behaviours.

What is Binge Eating Disorder (BED)?

In summary, BED can sometimes be referred to as “overeating”, “emotional eating” or “addictive eating” with people describing the behaviour as uncontrollable, eating past the point of fullness or to the point of feeling ill or “sick”. Generally, this is not something that happens occasionally, it would be a regular occurrence.

Do I have BED?

Start by asking yourself if you identify with any of the following?

Secret eating, hiding or stock piling food (fear of scarcity), mindless eating (e.g., eating in front of a screen, not being aware of how much you have eaten until you have finished), emotional eating, history of yoyo dieting having tried many other weight loss options and diets, food noise (e.g., thinking a lot about food) particularly when stressed, tired, anxious or mood is low, clean plate thinking (believing you cannot leave any food on your plate), fear of wasting food. As a result, this can bring about guilt, shame, isolation, feeling self-conscious or disgusting, avoiding having photographs taken, missing out on events or occasions.

Clients or people with BED can have very negative thoughts about themselves and get stuck in a cycle of self-deprecation, filled with shame, embarrassment, isolation and anxiety, sometimes leading to low mood and depression. Unfortunately, clients or people with BED can describe themselves as “greedy”, “lacking self-control or will-power”, referring to themselves as “lazy”, “unmotivated”, or “disgusting”.

People with BED who have a higher BMI or are in a larger body can be given the diagnoses/ label of obesity due to their weight but quite often the underlying issues or causes are overlooked or not explored. This can leave a person with BED feeling a failure, and can further push the person into a binge-restriction cycle where the person can binge on foods, usually secretively, then may restrict for long periods of the day leading to extreme hunger kicking in and binging to take place again.

People with BED usually encounter medical professionals initially for physical conditions such as general tiredness or lethargy, joint pain, back pain, stomach/ digestive issues such as reflux (GERD), constipation or diarrhoea, breathing difficulties, sleep-apnoea (breathing difficulties or stopping breathing during sleep) resulting in poor sleep patterns, high blood pressure, blood results may come back showing liver or blood sugar imbalances, type 2 diabetes or risk of developing type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol. General mental health concerns such as anxiety, insomnia, low mood or depression can also be common presentations medical professional see without the person disclosing their eating behaviours and thoughts.

People with higher BMIs or in a larger body may have been referred for bariatric or weight loss surgery or discussions around weight loss medications may have taken place such as:

GLP-1 receptor agonist used in the treatment for diabetes but also now referred to by some as “weight loss injections” e.g., ozempic / wegovy – semaglutide, mounjaro – trizepatide, saxenda – liraglutide or oral medications such as orlistat / xenical, bupropion and vyvanse – lisdexamfetamine (usually used in the treatment for ADHD).

However, these measures or interventions can not be used in isolation without considering the psychological and practical factors that can lead to a person developing BED and the NEDRC BED programme that can work in conjunction with these medical treatments.

For example, the person with BED may have experienced trauma in their life, have ADHD or ASD (autistic), this combined with the fact that habits are created that can be difficult to break alone. It is important for the person to not blame themselves or feel they don’t deserve or is not worthy of help.

It is important for the person with BED to understand that this condition or illness has physical and psychological components and treatment requires interventions for each of these components. It is unfair to think that a person can resolve this condition by themselves, the person needs a multidisciplinary approach, experienced in BED, in order to uncover, address and resolve these issues in order to break free and move on with their life in a healthier way.

The Binge Eating Disorder Programme

The Binge Eating Disorder Programme is a 12-week inpatient programme offered as part of our specialist Eating Disorder service. This programme has been developed to increase participant’s knowledge and understanding of the factors involved in the development and maintenance of binge eating and associated behaviours.

At the completion of the programme, we will individually discuss with clients potential options for further support if needed. This may involve NEDRC’s Day Programme or out-patient services.

Help is available but the first action to take is reaching out by contacting enquires@nedrc.ie, phoning 01 564 4450 or 087 775 5996 or asking your GP or healthcare professional to send a referral to referrals@nedrc.ie

You will be met with understanding, care and compassion by the NEDRC team.

The cost of treatment is covered by private health insurance (VHI Healthcare, Irish Life Health, Laya Healthcare, Garda Medical Aid). The Health Service Executive (HSE) funds clients on a case by case, please contact for advice on applying for funding.