Eating Disorder & Food Rehab In Phoenix | The Embers

What is a Food Addiction?

Food addiction is a behavioral disorder where individuals develop dependency patterns with certain foods similar to substance use disorders. [1] The brain responds to highly palatable foods—particularly those rich in sugar, fat, and salt—by releasing dopamine, creating reward circuits that drive compulsive eating behaviors beyond physical hunger or nutritional needs.

Food addiction involves: [2]

• • Loss of control over food consumption despite negative consequences
  • Preoccupation with thoughts about food throughout the day
  • Continued eating despite physical discomfort or health problems
    • Development of tolerance, requiring increasing amounts to achieve satisfaction
    • Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when cutting back on certain foods
    • Failed attempts to regulate consumption despite a sincere desire to change

Food addiction often involves ultra-processed foods specifically engineered to maximize palatability and consumption. The condition frequently co-occurs with other mental health challenges like depression, anxiety, or trauma. [3] People struggling with food addiction often face significant shame and stigma, as society tends to view the condition as a willpower issue rather than a complex neurobiological disorder requiring professional intervention.

At The Embers, we approach food addiction with the clinical seriousness it deserves, providing evidence-based treatment that addresses both the behavioral patterns and underlying psychological factors driving the addiction cycle.

How Does Food Addiction Develop?

Food addiction develops through complex interactions between biological vulnerability, psychological factors, and environmental influences. [4] The brain’s reward system responds intensely to highly palatable foods rich in sugar, fat, and salt. These foods trigger dopamine release far beyond what natural foods produce, creating powerful reward pathways that drive continued consumption. Over time, repeated exposure causes neurological adaptations that decrease satisfaction while increasing cravings, pushing people to consume larger amounts for the same effect.

Psychological elements play a crucial role in food addiction development as well. Many people initially turn to comfort foods as coping mechanisms for emotional distress, trauma, or mental health challenges. [5] These foods temporarily elevate mood and provide relief from negative emotions, creating a learned pattern of emotional eating. This pattern strengthens with each repetition until food becomes the primary strategy for managing feelings, making it increasingly difficult to develop healthier coping skills. Childhood experiences with food, including restriction or using food as rewards, can establish problematic relationships that persist into adulthood.

Environmental factors significantly influence food addiction vulnerability. Today’s food environment surrounds people with highly processed, expertly engineered products designed to maximize consumption. Food manufacturers intentionally create products with the perfect combinations of sugar, fat, and salt to override natural satiety signals, making it easier to overconsume.
Constant exposure through advertising, widespread availability, and social settings that center around problematic foods creates additional challenges. Stress from work pressures, financial strain, and family responsibilities further drives many people toward comfort eating as an accessible form of self-soothing, gradually establishing addictive patterns that become increasingly difficult to break without professional intervention.

Are Food Addictions Recognized As Disorders?

Binge eating disorder received official recognition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013. [6] BED involves recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food in a short period while feeling a lack of control. Unlike bulimia nervosa, people with BED don’t regularly purge after episodes. This recognition marks an important step toward understanding problematic relationships with food beyond traditional eating disorders.

Symptoms of binge eating disorder include:

• Eating unusually large amounts of food in a discrete time period
• Feeling a lack of control during binging episodes
• Eating much more rapidly than normal
• Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
• Eating large amounts when not physically hungry
• Eating alone due to embarrassment about the quantity consumed
• Feeling disgusted, depressed, or guilty after overeating
• Marked distress about binge eating behavior
• Binge eating at least once a week for three months
• No regular compensatory behaviors like purging or excessive exercise

The medical community also recognizes other food-related disorders that differ from food addiction patterns. [7] Anorexia nervosa involves severe food restriction, intense fear of weight gain, and distorted body image. Bulimia nervosa features cycles of binge eating followed by compensatory purging behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives.

These established eating disorders focus primarily on body image and weight concerns, while food addiction emphasizes the dependency relationship with specific foods regardless of weight-related motivations.

How Common is Food Addiction?

Food addiction affects a significant portion of the population, though prevalence estimates vary based on diagnostic criteria and assessment methods. Research indicates that approximately 24.9 percent of overweight or obese individuals report clinically significant symptoms of food addiction. [8] Studies also find that 11.1 percent of people at healthy weights also report addiction-like relationships with food.

How We Treat Food Addiction

Food addiction can impact every part of life, and we know that each person’s journey with food addiction is unique, shaped by complex emotional landscapes, genetic predispositions, trauma histories, and deeply ingrained behavioral patterns. Our approach dives into the root causes that drive compulsive eating behaviors and creates a compassionate, comprehensive path to healing.

• Art Therapy: A canvas for emotional exploration, revealing unconscious narratives about nourishment and self-worth
• Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT): Precision tools for dismantling destructive thought patterns around food and eating
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Emotional regulation skills that transform reactive eating into mindful choices
• EMDR: By reducing emotional distress caused by trauma, EMDR allows clients to promote healing by improving coping skills.
• Experiential Therapy: Innovative approaches that bypass intellectual defenses and access deeper healing, such as breath work, cold plunges, and red light/sauna sessions
• Family Therapy: Illuminating generational patterns and reconstructing healthy relational dynamics
• Group Therapy: A supportive community where isolation dissolves, and collective healing emerges
• Hypnotherapy: Guides people into a relaxed state where the subconscious mind becomes receptive to positive suggestions, helping establish new mental patterns
• Individual Therapy: Tailored strategies that honor each person’s unique psychological landscape
• Internal Family Systems: IFS recognizes the different parts of the self that develop as a result of difficult circumstances, creating insight and motivation for ongoing recovery
• Life Skills Development: Practical wisdom for building sustainable, nourishing lifestyle foundations
• Medication Management: Carefully calibrated medical support addressing potential underlying conditions
• Mindfulness Coaching: Cultivating present-moment awareness as a powerful antidote to compulsive behaviors
• Neurofeedback: Measures brainwave activity in real-time and teaches self-regulation of neural patterns, reducing symptoms and enhancing mental function for recovery
• Trauma-Informed Care: Gentle, respectful healing of deep emotional wounds that fuel addictive cycles
• Yoga Therapy: Embodied practices that reconnect mind, body, and spirit in the recovery journey