College: The Battle of the Binge

When I heard the word “binge” in high school, I assumed it only related to bulimia, and the idea of binging and purging. But, truth be told, after four hectic years of college, I have come to realize that binging itself can be a disorder.

By Abby

Anxious about the amount of work I have due? Hit the pantry. Stressed about boyfriend problems? Right to the cookie stash. I can feel my heart start to beat faster as stress builds up and my blood starts to race. I need some sort of sugar or carb fix, and I need it immediately and a lot of it.

After living around college girls for four years, I also realize that I am not the only one who has this immediate reaction to stress. I don’t know the exact point that it started for me, but I know it was in college. Back in high school, I didn’t even know what a calorie was. I just ate when I was hungry and didn’t eat if I was full, plain and simple. But now with all the additional stress of college life, especially senior year, it’s a constant battle to channel my anxiety in another way.

This disorder is on the rise, and the NY Times reported in a recent article that “binge eating is by far the most common eating disorder, occurring in 1 in 35 adults, or 2.8 percent — almost twice the combined rate for anorexia (0.6 percent) and bulimia (1 percent).”

I would say that’s a pretty significant amount, doubling the rate for anorexia and bulimia?! Maybe now that it’s being recognized, we will figure out ways to deal with it. Hopefully, because I don’t think my metabolism can keep up with multiple bowls of Lucky Charms at 1 am for the rest of my life.