I need help with my food addiction


SAMHSA’s National Helpline | SAMHSA

Your browser is not supported

Switch to Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari

Main page content

  • SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

    Also visit the online treatment locator.

SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service), or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.

Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 (HELP4U) to find help near you. Read more about the HELP4U text messaging service.

The service is open 24/7, 365 days a year.

English and Spanish are available if you select the option to speak with a national representative. Currently, the 435748 (HELP4U) text messaging service is only available in English.

In 2020, the Helpline received 833,598 calls. This is a 27 percent increase from 2019, when the Helpline received a total of 656,953 calls for the year.

The referral service is free of charge. If you have no insurance or are underinsured, we will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs. In addition, we can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you have health insurance, you are encouraged to contact your insurer for a list of participating health care providers and facilities.

The service is confidential. We will not ask you for any personal information. We may ask for your zip code or other pertinent geographic information in order to track calls being routed to other offices or to accurately identify the local resources appropriate to your needs.

No, we do not provide counseling. Trained information specialists answer calls, transfer callers to state services or other appropriate intake centers in their states, and connect them with local assistance and support.

  • Suggested Resources

    What Is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families
    Created for family members of people with alcohol abuse or drug abuse problems. Answers questions about substance abuse, its symptoms, different types of treatment, and recovery. Addresses concerns of children of parents with substance use/abuse problems.

    It's Not Your Fault (NACoA) (PDF | 12 KB)
    Assures teens with parents who abuse alcohol or drugs that, "It's not your fault!" and that they are not alone. Encourages teens to seek emotional support from other adults, school counselors, and youth support groups such as Alateen, and provides a resource list.

    After an Attempt: A Guide for Taking Care of Your Family Member After Treatment in the Emergency Department
    Aids family members in coping with the aftermath of a relative's suicide attempt. Describes the emergency department treatment process, lists questions to ask about follow-up treatment, and describes how to reduce risk and ensure safety at home.

    Family Therapy Can Help: For People in Recovery From Mental Illness or Addiction
    Explores the role of family therapy in recovery from mental illness or substance abuse. Explains how family therapy sessions are run and who conducts them, describes a typical session, and provides information on its effectiveness in recovery.

    For additional resources, please visit the SAMHSA Store.

Last Updated: 08/30/2022

SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator

Home

Welcome to the Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator, a confidential and anonymous source of information for persons seeking treatment facilities in the United States or U.S. Territories for substance use/addiction and/or mental health problems.

PLEASE NOTE: Your personal information and the search criteria you enter into the Locator is secure and anonymous. SAMHSA does not collect or maintain any information you provide.

Please enter a valid location.

please type your address

  • FindTreatment.

    gov

    Millions of Americans have a substance use disorder. Find a treatment facility near you.

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

    Call or text 988

    Free and confidential support for people in distress, 24/7.

  • National Helpline

    1-800-662-HELP (4357)

    Treatment referral and information, 24/7.

  • Disaster Distress Helpline

    1-800-985-5990

    Immediate crisis counseling related to disasters, 24/7.

  • Overview
  • Locator OverviewLocator Overview
  • Locator OverviewLocator Overview
  • Finding Treatment
  • Find Facilities for VeteransFind Facilities for Veterans
  • Find Facilities for VeteransFind Facilities for Veterans
  • Facility Directors
  • Register a New FacilityRegister a New Facility
  • Register a New FacilityRegister a New Facility
  • Other Locator Functionalities
  • Download Search ResultsDownload Search Results
  • Use Google MapsUse Google Maps
  • Print Search ResultsPrint Search Results
  • Use Google MapsUse Google Maps
  • Icon from Find practitioners and treatment programs providing buprenorphine for opioid addiction (heroin or pain relievers). Find practitioners and treatment programs providing buprenorphine for opioid addiction (heroin or pain relievers).
  • Icon from Find practitioners and treatment programs providing buprenorphine for opioid addiction (heroin or pain relievers). Find programs providing methadone for the treatment of opioid addiction (heroin or pain relievers).

The Locator is authorized by the 21st Century Cures Act (Public Law 114-255, Section 9006; 42 U.S.C. 290bb-36d). SAMHSA endeavors to keep the Locator current. All information in the Locator is updated annually from facility responses to SAMHSA’s National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS). New facilities that have completed an abbreviated survey and met all the qualifications are added monthly. Updates to facility names, addresses, telephone numbers, and services are made weekly for facilities informing SAMHSA of changes. Facilities may request additions or changes to their information by sending an e-mail to [email protected], by calling the BHSIS Project Office at 1-833-888-1553 (Mon-Fri 8-6 ET), or by electronic form submission using the Locator online application form (intended for additions of new facilities).

How to get rid of food addiction

The habit of eating problems and finding comfort in emptying the refrigerator is not as harmless as it might seem. Getting rid of it is no easier than getting rid of alcohol or nicotine addiction, and the consequences for the body can be no less deplorable. And being overweight is just the tip of the iceberg. Unlike addiction to alcohol, food pathologies are not perceived as a threat to society, so you have to deal with them on your own, most often alone.

The advice to "pull yourself together" does not work, nor does trying to go on a diet. Forced starvation is replaced by overeating - and everything returns to normal. Because any addiction requires full-fledged treatment, and food addiction is no exception. It needs to be dealt with step by step.

How to define food addiction?

The habit of frequent snacking and large portions do not yet indicate the presence of pathology. Many people like to eat delicious food, but not everyone has a food addiction.

The following signs testify to its presence:

  1. Almost all thoughts revolve around food, a person constantly thinks about it.
  2. The anticipation of a quick snack fills with joy, pleasant excitement. Hunger, even mild, leads to emotional and physical decline.
  3. Always want to eat, regardless of mood, well-being, employment.
  4. Attending any events, going to visit relatives, friends seems meaningless if there is no planned meal.
  5. After overeating there is a habitual feeling of guilt.

The presence of at least a few "symptoms" indicates the presence of an eating disorder. If you are determined to overcome your addiction, move on to the next step. Before starting the correction, you need to find out the causes of the problem. Otherwise, "getting rid of the congestion" will not work.

What causes food addiction?

The roots of the problem must be looked for in one's own head: in childhood or adult traumas, stress, self-esteem disorders. The constant desire to fill the stomach is not at all a bad habit learned at the family table. In most cases, the cause of a persistent food addiction that is difficult to cope with lies in the psyche:

  1. Low self-esteem leads to being overweight. In the past, the opposite was considered true. For a long time, psychologists believed that being overweight caused problems with positive self-image. Today, researchers of the mental world are inclined to believe that low self-esteem triggers the addiction mechanism and causes weight gain.
  2. The inability to cope with emotional problems leads to the habit of "jamming" stress. Debates about whether depression is the cause of overeating or vice versa are eternal. But there is no doubt that these factors are interrelated.
  3. Childhood abuse increases the risk of obesity with age. This applies to both physical and mental trauma.
  4. Dissatisfaction with the quality of life, periods of crisis, disappointment, lack of positive emotions, vitality, goals and meanings can also provoke an eating disorder.

Determining the cause of food addiction is essential for successful treatment. If you ignore this stage, the results of the correction are unlikely to please.

Is it possible to overcome food addiction on your own?

If you are determined to conquer your passion for immoderate consumption of food, do not rush to go to extremes: drink pills, code, go to magicians and conspirators. These are not the best methods of dealing with food addiction. Before paying for dubious help, try to mobilize your own forces.

To begin with, remind yourself that the main cause of death in modern people is not alcohol abuse or drug overdose, but banal overeating and physical inactivity. The first lines in the ranking of factors leading to premature death, the international health organization (WHO) assigns cardiovascular and chronic diseases, stroke, diabetes. And they are caused by nothing more than malnutrition: an excess of fatty, sweet, quickly digested food. Let this knowledge become an additional motivator on the way to getting rid of addiction. You don't want to add to the list of people who have destroyed their bodies on their own, do you?

How to treat food addiction: a step-by-step technique

The surest way to reach your goal is to take steps towards it. Fast, slow, whatever. Start with the first stage - and you will see that the last one will immediately become closer:

  1. Put things in order in your head. First, identify the cause of the addiction, and second, acknowledge it. Perhaps for this you will need to remember not the most pleasant moments in life and pull out a not very attractive truth.
  2. Set yourself a clear, achievable, and easily measurable goal. It can be a specific number on the scale, the amount of savings on harmful products, or a few centimeters at the waist. To begin with, it is important to win, at least in small things.
  3. Get into the habit of planning. This applies not only to the diet and the new diet, but also to other aspects of life. Gradually it will become a habit and it will become easier for you to control yourself.
  4. Take up a new hobby. Fortunately, there are more than enough opportunities to find an interesting hobby today. Learn what quilling, patchwork, latte art is, sign up for watercolor painting courses or dog grooming. It is important that a new business absorbs free time and distracts from thoughts about food.
  5. Drink more pure water. It is water, not herbal tea, freshly squeezed juice or other healthy drinks.
  6. Get active. Exercise addiction is the best cure for overeating. It's hard to just start, so start small: with short walks, sit-ups, going to the pool.

Of course, you should not think that getting rid of addiction will be possible in a couple of days. The need for food is inherent in a person at the level of instinct. Therefore, it will be necessary to clearly distinguish between the necessary minimum, permissible indulgences and explicit enumeration. Compiling a daily menu can be a good help: from breakfast to bedtime.

Recovering from food addiction: useful videos and tips

To overcome an unhealthy craving for food, little tricks will come in handy. For example, favorite foods can be replaced with alternative “pleasures”. Set aside the money that was previously used to buy chips, cakes, and other harmful things and spend it on something important or useful: going to the cinema, a useful little thing for the home, a new gadget, paying for courses, needlework, etc. The main thing is not to acquire a new addiction along the way - from shopping.

It is important for those who suffer from low self-esteem to praise themselves. You can memorize special settings or come up with your own. Compliment your reflection after playing sports, thank yourself for small achievements, look for positive moments on the way to your goal.

Find real or virtual like-minded people who will support, inspire, stimulate. Overcoming difficulties is always easier with the help of friends or people suffering from similar problems. Also, videos of those who were able to achieve serious results in the fight against overeating will be a good incentive.

Like the article? Share with friends:

One-time consultation

Publication date: 12/06/2019

The author of the article: a specialist in the use of pharmacology in sports, as well as a certified specialist in nutrition and dietology Leiman Andrey Valerievich.

I provide consultations on the analysis of analyzes for athletes, I am engaged in the preparation of steroid courses and their administration for the entire period of use.

Dependencies. Treatment of alcohol, drug, nicotine, food, emotional, gambling and other types of addictions in Moscow

+7 (495) 780-07-71

Call center open 24/7

Ambulance
around the clock

Author

Pakhomova Irina Vasilievna

Senior doctor

Candidate of Medical Sciences

Psychotherapist

Creation date: 2016.03.29

Cashback 1000 rubles for all services for a visit in November More All promotions

Dependency is a pathological need for something, an obsessive attraction.

Man strives for what gives him pleasure. The desire to fill your life with pleasure is a common feature that unites people prone to various addictions. But trying to prolong or enhance pleasure, a person falls into slavery from the object of his desires, loses freedom of action, loses his will. And from some point on, pleasure turns into torment, and for others and loved ones it turns into a real nightmare.

Getting rid of addiction on your own, without the help of a specialist, is very difficult, almost impossible. After all, addiction is a real disease (in medicine, addiction is called in Latin addiction ).

Types of dependencies

Dependencies are divided into two large groups. These are chemical and non-chemical dependencies.

Chemical dependencies

The group of chemical addictions includes addictions to psychoactive substances, that is, substances that affect the activity of the central nervous system. A single use of such substances leads to a change in the emotional and physical state of a person, and repeated use causes the formation of mental and physical dependence.

Chemical addictions are alcohol, nicotine (tobacco) and drug addictions.

Alcohol addiction

Alcohol dependence (alcoholism) is a disease that manifests itself as addiction to alcohol with mental and physical dependence on it.

First, a psychological dependence develops. A person begins to resort to alcohol as the only way to relieve stress, cheer up, relax, get rid of fatigue after a hard day, facilitate communication with others. The fact that alcohol becomes a means of first aid in various life circumstances is often seen as nothing wrong. Until a certain point, adherence to alcohol does not affect health, work, or relationships with loved ones. Such a person is strikingly different from the "classic" image of an alcoholic - a person with a blue nose, shaking hands, who has lost his job and prefers drinking, albeit with random drinking companions, to everything else. And on this basis, a person already addicted to drunkenness does not consider that there are any reasons for concern.

Meanwhile, the restructuring of the human personality is gradually taking place. Priorities are changing. A person begins to look for a reason to drink, to strive to where this desire can be realized. The planned drinking causes euphoria, and if the event failed, the mood drops down to depression. More and more money is being spent on alcohol.

Susceptibility to alcohol also changes. It now takes 2-3 times the amount of alcohol to reach the drunken state. To achieve the desired state, a person changes drinks - he starts drinking stronger, often cheaper and lower quality ones, because the taste component no longer matters.

The next stage is characterized by an irresistible desire to drink. The need for alcohol is already stronger than the need for food. Personal degradation continues. Without drinking, a person becomes aggressive and irritable. The euphoria achieved with alcohol passes quickly, and the dose needed to get drunk increases even more. Headaches, heart problems and other disorders appear.

Further progression of alcoholism will lead to binges and even greater destruction of the personality. Physical health problems will also increase.

Alcoholism is detrimental to the family. It is estimated that one alcoholic stricken person has a profound effect on the lives of at least four people. The reaction of family members to the behavior of a person with alcohol dependence, as a rule, is typical, and it can take its pathological forms. As a result, the situation in the family worsens even more. The way out is to see a doctor (psychotherapist or narcologist).

In such situations, professional help is needed for all family members. For the treatment of alcohol dependence in modern medicine, various methods are used: drug therapy, a combination of drug and psychotherapeutic assistance, prohibitive methods. It is also necessary to consult the relatives of the patient - without this, it is extremely difficult to achieve long-term remissions and normalize family relations.

Drug addiction

Drug dependence (drug addiction) is a chronic progressive disease associated with the use of narcotic substances. The list of narcotic drugs is determined by law. If there is dependence on a substance that is not included in the list of narcotic drugs, they talk about substance abuse . The progression of drug addiction means that the disease is constantly developing: if the addict is left to himself, it will definitely get worse. Drug addiction treatment should not be postponed in any case.

Drug addiction treatment is carried out only under the supervision of a psychiatrist-narcologist. Treatment should include mandatory further rehabilitation (restoration of lost functions).

Nicotine addiction

Nicotine addiction (smoking) is a serious problem. Nicotine has a devastating effect on the human body. Stopping smoking can help a person maintain and improve their health, but quitting smoking is not so easy. It is known that only 15% of smokers can consider smoking as a habit, while 85% of smokers have it as a nicotine addiction.

If a person decides to quit smoking, he can choose the most appropriate method for dealing with nicotine addiction. Someone is able to give up cigarettes on their own, and for this someone needs to undergo treatment using one method or another. It's all purely individual. The main thing is not the method, the main thing is the result: a cure for nicotine addiction. If it is impossible to cope with addiction on your own, you need to seek help from specialists (psychotherapist or narcologist).

The cause of the disease is treated, and each has its own. Therefore, the correct treatment of nicotine addiction requires an individual approach. The course of treatment, as a rule, includes a set of measures both at the biological and psychological levels.

Non-chemical dependencies

Recently, non-chemical addictions have become more widespread: addiction to gambling or computer games, addiction to shopping, addiction to food.

Gambling addiction

Gambling addiction (card addiction, etc.), computer games (gambling addiction) manifests itself in the form of a constant desire to participate in the game. The game is given more and more time - to the detriment of work and normal communication. Even outside the situation of the game, a person suffering from gambling addiction constantly thinks about the game, plans game combinations. When playing for money, such a person is not able to stop even after a big win; it is also difficult for him to stop after a series of large losses.

Gambling goes through several stages: the stage of winning, when a person is motivated to play by the desire to win; the stage of loss, when the main thing is the desire to recoup; the stage of disappointment, in which a person becomes depressed and completely falls out of normal life. The sooner treatment is started, the easier it will be to cope with addiction. It is extremely difficult to cope with gambling on your own; to get rid of gambling addiction, you need to seek help from a specialist (psychotherapist or psychiatrist-narcologist).

Shopping addiction

Shopping addiction is an uncontrollable desire to make more and more new purchases. In principle, any successful purchase is a pleasure. Quite often there is an advertisement calling for pleasure by buying a new thing. As a result, a behavioral stereotype arises: if you want to improve your mood, buy something. Such behavior becomes pathological when the very act of buying is more important than the thing being acquired. The number of unnecessary purchases is growing; an increasing share of the personal or family budget is spent on shopping, so that it begins to affect other aspects of life.

In order to overcome addiction, you need the help of a specialist. The psychotherapist must find out the real reasons that make a person seek solace in shopping. As a rule, these are serious intra-family or personal problems.

Food addiction

Food addiction (food addiction) manifests itself in the use of food regardless of the feeling of hunger. That is, a person eats, and when he is full. The motivation for eating is the desire to have fun (to cheer you up). This can be expressed, for example, as a reaction to stress: a person tries to “seize” bad emotions.

Indeed, food can be enjoyable. However, if a person tries to indulge himself all the time with plentiful and tasty food, addiction develops: a person eats more and receives less pleasure. Food addiction leads to obesity. Excess weight reduces a person's self-esteem, these are again bad emotions that a person struggles with in the usual way, that is, food.

It is almost impossible to get out of this vicious circle on your own. The task of overcoming food addiction should be solved in a complex way, for which both medication and psychotherapeutic methods are used. Treatment is carried out by a psychotherapist or narcologist with the participation of an endocrinologist. A competent approach involves not only treating the consequences of overeating, but also eliminating the causes that caused obesity.

Emotional dependence

Emotional dependence is an obsessive need for another person. The dependent person feels the value of their relationship with another as critical; it seems to him that his whole life consists in these relations. With stress, anxiety, such a person feels the need for contact with a loved one, and if it is impossible, his emotional state worsens. Emotional dependence destroys both the personality of the one who suffers from it, and the relationship itself, as they often become painful for the object of his love.

Any questions?

Leave the phone -
and we will call you back

Addiction treatment methods

The first step in addiction treatment is to recognize your own lack of freedom. A person must admit that he is a victim of a habit, that he does not control himself, but addiction manipulates him. Only then will there be a desire to restore one's personal sovereignty, a desire to overcome dependence, on which both the doctor and the person himself can rely.

The second step is to contact a specialist: a psychiatrist (psychiatrist-narcologist) or a psychotherapist. When choosing a doctor, it is necessary to focus on the professionalism and experience of the doctor.


Learn more