Overeating or Binge Eating? Understanding the Difference (And Why It Matters)

Most of us have eaten more than we meant to at some point in our lives. Seconds at dinner, finishing the biscuits out of habit, eating past fullness just because it tasted good...that’s overeating, and it’s something that we all do here and there.

But when eating feels compulsive — when it happens in secret, when you feel powerless to stop, when it’s driven by a strong emotion — this may be binge eating. Binge eating is also very normal and common but the way we go about managing it is very different to overeating.

If you’ve ever found yourself caught in that cycle of urgency, guilt, and shame that comes along with binge eating - you certainly are not alone. And more importantly — there is nothing wrong with you. Binge eating is very common (in fact it is our bodies natural way or coping with diets or food restriction) but we often don't hear people talking about it because it tends to be something that people do when they are alone and in secret.

The Difference Between Overeating and Binge Eating

Overeating is eating more than your body needs. It can be conscious or unconscious, joyful or automatic, but it typically doesn’t come with intense emotional fallout.

Binge eating, on the other hand, often feels distressing. It might look like:

• Eating large amounts of food in a short time

• Feeling out of control during the episode

• Eating even when not hungry

• Hiding or rushing the behaviour

• Feeling shame, regret, or emotional numbness afterward

  
  

Bingeing is often about soothing, coping, surviving or it can be a learnt behaviour that just plays out on autopilot. We often have clients telling us that it almost feels like someone else is engaging in the behaviour and that they "come back to themselves" after the binge has finished and the guilt kicks in.

Diagnostic Criteria

The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is a handbook used by healthcare professionals around the world to diagnose mental health conditions. The most recent edition — the DSM-5-TR — outlines specific criteria for diagnosing Binge Eating Disorder (BED).

According to these guidelines, BED involves:

• Recurrent episodes of binge eating (at least once a week for three months)

• A sense of lack of control during these episodes

• And at least three of the following behaviours:

  • Eating much more rapidly than usual

  • Eating until feeling uncomfortably full

  • Eating large amounts when not physically hungry

  • Eating alone because of embarrassment

  • Feeling disgusted, low, or very guilty afterward

    
    

Importantly, binge eating is not followed by regular purging, fasting, or other extreme “compensatory” behaviours (which would suggest another diagnosis, such as bulimia).

These criteria help distinguish binge eating from occasional overeating, by focusing on the emotional experience, the sense of loss of control, and how often it occurs — not just how much food is consumed. And you don’t have to meet all the criteria to be struggling or to deserve support.

Why This Distinction Matters

When binge eating is mislabelled as simple “overeating,” the solutions offered tend to focus on restriction and control: Eat less. Try harder. Stay disciplined. But for someone struggling with binge eating, this only fuels the cycle. Restriction leads to desperation. Desperation leads to bingeing. Bingeing leads to shame. And the shame sends you right back to restriction. You deserve better than that.You deserve an approach that understands what’s really going on beneath the surface.

Equally however, mislabelling occasional overeating as bingeing can be harmful too — it can create unnecessary shame around food, pathologise normal eating behaviour, and make us feel like we need to "do better", when we’re simply human. It can also trigger disordered patterns, especially when we feel the need to restrict or “make up for it” the next day — reinforcing the very cycles we’re trying to escape.

Our Approach: Rooted in Compassion, Designed for Real Life

At The Food Therapy Clinic, we take an interdisciplinary approach to treating binge eating that gently supports you toward healing — emotionally, physically, and practically.

Our treatment programmes combine:

- Psychotherapy to address the emotional roots of bingeing

-Nutrition tools that focus on nourishment, not punishment

-Hypnotherapy to ease the nervous system and gently rewire habits

-Real-life strategies that work with your body and your story — not against them.

You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

If this resonates — if you're tired of struggling your way through another “new start” — please know: recovery is possible. It starts with understanding. It deepens with self-compassion. And it’s absolutely okay to ask for support.

If you would like to explore your options for support, please reach out to us at info@thefoodtherapyclinic.com to book in a free consultation. You don’t have to keep doing this alone.

"You are allowed to outgrow the survival patterns that once kept you safe."— Thema Bryant