Is binge eating the same as emotional eating

They can overlap. Emotional eating is often eating in response to feelings. Binge eating tends to involve a stronger sense of loss of control and distress afterwards. Therapy focuses on the maintaining cycle rather than labels.

Will therapy put me on a diet or meal plan?

No. Therapy isn’t about prescribing dieting rules. The focus is on understanding what maintains binge eating and building steadier, less punishing patterns. If nutritional support is needed, we can discuss appropriate options alongside therapy.

Why do I binge after trying to be “good”?

Rigid rules and restriction often increase the likelihood of rebound eating. Therapy helps you move away from all-or-nothing cycles and towards steadier nourishment and flexibility.

What if binge eating is linked to stress and burnout?

That’s very common. Therapy helps with emotional regulation, boundaries, recovery, and reducing the pressure that drives the urge cycle.

Can therapy help with body shame as well?

Yes. Body image and self-criticism often maintain binge eating cycles. Therapy works with shame and builds a kinder, more stable relationship with yourself.

Do you offer binge eating therapy in London and online?

Yes. We offer therapy in London and online across the UK.

Binge Eating Therapy

Binge eating is often described as episodes of eating that feel out of control, followed by distress, shame, or a sense of “what have I done?” For many people it isn’t about hunger, and it isn’t about a lack of willpower. It’s often a coping strategy that has become stuck — a way the mind and body try to regulate emotion, stress, depletion, or discomfort.

Some people binge eat in private and feel very alone with it. Others experience a long history of dieting, restriction, and then rebound eating, where the body and nervous system swing between control and collapse. Many people are high functioning in other parts of life, while binge eating feels like the one area that won’t come under control.

At Hampstead Psychology, we offer compassionate, evidence-based therapy for binge eating in London and online across the UK. We help you understand what’s maintaining the pattern and build a steadier, kinder relationship with food, body, and self.

This page is for information and does not replace a clinical assessment, diagnosis, or medical advice.

When binge eating starts to take over

You might recognise some of these experiences:

You feel drawn into eating in a way that feels hard to stop once it starts.
You eat when you’re not physically hungry, often driven by stress, emotion, or exhaustion.
You feel ashamed afterwards and promise yourself you’ll “be good” tomorrow.
You swing between trying to control eating and then feeling it collapse.
You hide eating, eat in secret, or feel anxious about being seen.
You notice strong cravings, urges, or a sense of urgency that feels hard to tolerate.
You struggle with guilt and self-criticism and feel stuck in a cycle.
You avoid social situations, dating, or activities because of body-related shame.
You feel preoccupied with food and eating, even when you don’t want to be.
You worry you should be able to “just stop,” and feel discouraged.

If this fits, you’re not broken. Binge eating is often a response to pressure, restriction, emotional load, or nervous system depletion. Therapy helps you understand the function of the behaviour and develop safer, more sustainable ways to meet the underlying need.

How binge eating can show up

Emotional and stress-driven eating

Many people binge eat when they feel overwhelmed, lonely, anxious, numb, or depleted. Eating can briefly soothe, distract, or provide comfort. The relief is real, but it often comes with shame afterwards, which can trigger the next cycle.

Restriction and rebound

For some people, the cycle is driven by restriction — not just “dieting,” but any rigid rule system around eating, body control, or fear of weight gain. When the body and mind feel deprived or threatened, rebound eating becomes more likely. Therapy helps you loosen rigid rules and build steadier nourishment and flexibility.

Urges, loss of control, and feeling disconnected

Binge eating can feel like an urge state: urgent, narrow, hard to pause. Some people feel almost dissociated or on autopilot. Therapy helps you understand what happens in those moments and build skills for pause, regulation, and alternative responses that don’t rely on punishment.

Shame and secrecy

Shame often keeps binge eating stuck. The more you hide it and judge yourself, the more alone it feels — and the more the behaviour becomes a private coping strategy. Therapy helps reduce shame, build compassion, and create change without blame.

Related difficulties we often see alongside binge eating

Binge eating often overlaps with anxiety, low mood, stress and burnout, body image concerns, perfectionism, and intense self-criticism. Sleep problems and exhaustion can make urges stronger. Many people also carry a history of dieting or feeling judged about their body, which can amplify shame and control strategies.

Therapy looks at the whole picture, while keeping the work focused on the patterns that maintain binge eating.

What keeps binge eating going?

Binge eating is often maintained by a loop that makes sense in the moment.

A trigger shows up (stress, emotion, exhaustion, loneliness, self-criticism, restriction, social pressure).
An urge builds and feels urgent or unbearable.
Eating brings short-term relief, comfort, numbness, or regulation.
Afterwards, shame or fear appears, and you try to regain control through rigid rules or self-punishment.
Restriction, pressure, and depletion then increase the likelihood of another binge.

Therapy helps you step out of this cycle by addressing the drivers underneath it, reducing shame, building regulation skills, and creating a steadier relationship with food and self.

How therapy for binge eating helps

At Hampstead Psychology, we use approaches that are widely used in evidence-based psychological practice. Depending on your needs, this may include CBT, ACT, compassion-focused work, and schema-informed therapy.

In practice, therapy often involves understanding your binge cycle clearly and working on the specific points where it can shift. That might include reducing rigid eating rules, working with emotional regulation and stress, strengthening the ability to pause when urges rise, and changing the way you respond after setbacks so the cycle doesn’t continue.

We also work carefully with shame and self-criticism. Many people have tried to change binge eating through harshness and control, and it often makes things worse. Therapy focuses on building change through understanding, compassion, and practical structure.

If medical factors are relevant, or if you have concerns about your physical health, we encourage appropriate medical input alongside therapy.

What to expect from sessions

We begin by understanding your experience in context: when binge eating happens, what tends to precede it, what it does for you in the moment, and what happens afterwards. We’ll also explore what you’ve tried already, and how restriction, stress, sleep, mood, and body image might be interacting.

From there, we develop a shared map and clear therapy goals. Sessions are collaborative and structured. You’ll leave with insight that feels usable and practical steps to try between sessions, reviewed and refined over time. The pace matters, and we work carefully so change is steady and sustainable.

How long does therapy take?

This varies. Some people benefit from focused work on the binge-restrict cycle and emotional regulation. Others need longer, particularly when binge eating is linked to longstanding shame, trauma, perfectionism, or a history of repeated dieting and body-based judgement.

We review progress together so therapy stays purposeful and aligned with your goals.

Binge eating therapy in Hampstead and online

We offer therapy for binge eating in person in London and online across the UK. Many people prefer online sessions for privacy and convenience, and it can be very effective when you have a quiet, confidential space.

Take the next step

If binge eating has become a source of shame, secrecy, or distress, you don’t have to keep carrying it alone. With the right support, the cycle can soften and change, and you can build a steadier relationship with food, body, and yourself.

Contact Hampstead Psychology to enquire about binge eating therapy in London or online.

Useful links: Body Dysmorphia Therapy, Anxiety Therapy, Depression Therapy, Stress and Burnout, Fees, Meet the Team, Contact.

Urgent Help

If you are worried about immediate risk to your safety, call 999 or go to A&E. If you need urgent support but it isn’t an emergency, contact NHS 111 or your GP. You can also contact Samaritans on 116 123 (24/7).

Meet The Team

At Hampstead Psychology, all of our psychologists have extensive training to doctoral level and decades of experience in their field of expertise. You will be matched with a psychologist that has the knowledge and skill to help you understand and overcome your problem - not just in the short term but for good.