Maybe! Here are a few signs you might be experiencing food insanity:

Do you binge? Bingeing is your body’s primal way of coping with perceived starvation. Just one hyper-restrictive diet is enough to send a signal to your brain that your food sources are not dependable, compelling you to eat anything and everything in front of you.

Are you a yo-yo dieter? If you keep gaining and losing the same weight over and over again, chances are you have subjected yourself to overly restrictive diet patterns to lose that weight AND/OR set unrealistic weight-loss goals that simply don’t suit your body type. Your body naturally views weight loss as a threat to health and fights to gain that weight back. It’s not a failing of willpower, it’s a totally uncool quirk of evolution.

Do you obsess about food? Like ALL the time? This can be a sign that your brain thinks you’re starving. Check out this fascinating World War II-era study and the effects calorie-restriction had on its subjects.

Do you fight to stay in control over food? This is not how life has to be. Contrary to everything you’ve been told, relinquishing “control” over food is actually an effective, sustainable way to find your way back to freedom.

Do you have trigger foods? The longer you stay away from these foods, the more powerful they will seem. I highly recommend facing down your trigger foods as step one on your journey to recovery. Read more about this here.

Do you obsess about calories, macros, carbs, points? The diet industry has brainwashed us into using arbitrary numbers as a way to feel in control over food and weight. In fact, it’s only bringing us farther away from the body’s natural cues of hunger and fullness and increasing binge eating episodes.

Do you see life divided between “eating right” and “cheating”? Assigning qualities of goodness and badness to different kinds of food is a common sign of disordered eating. Read more about “cheating” here and signs of disordered eating here.

Are you unhappy? This is probably the biggest factor in deciding that something’s gotta give. When you want something to change, you need to try something different. Give your brain a chance to reset, then get on with your life, binge-free.