A phenomenon recently classified as an eating disorder is binge eating—when someone consumes food far beyond satiety and can’t stop.

Based on my years of working as a nutrition coach, bingeing—if you ask me—isn’t an eating disorder in and of itself. It’s a symptom of repressed emotions and a lack of habit awareness.

You see, unacknowledged emotions pile up in the unconscious until they eventually erupt uncontrollably, doing far more damage than if they had been given a small outlet once a month.

While the original person who brought the awareness of this concept to the public was Freud in the early 20th century, we see endless examples of this phenomenon long before Freud’s time in myths and stories.

In Greek tragedy “The Bacchae,” for instance, Pentheus denies and suppresses the emotional, feminine energy of Dionysus. His refusal to acknowledge these forces leads to his own mother, under divine madness, tearing him apart limb by limb—a metaphor for the danger of denying primal aspects of the self.

Let’s go even further back:

Saul, the first king of Israel, becomes jealous of young David. Despite moments of affection and attempts at reconciliation, Saul continually represses his insecurity and fear of being replaced as a king.

Instead of confronting his fear, Saul turns paranoid and unstable, attempting to kill David multiple times. His tragic madness is emphasized in the story.

The unresolved internal conflict leads to Saul’s mental breakdown, isolation, and eventual death in battle. Classic case of repressed emotions of inadequacy leading to personal ruin.

But back to our modern world, where all we want is to live a healthy life and maybe drop a few lbs:

Many people today live in a state of dogmatic purism—they consume only certain foods, eat in restricted time windows, and avoid the unfathomable evil of sugar, flour, alcohol, grains, and meat like they’re the equivalent of cyanide.

While I’m the first to argue for the value of discipline and sacrifice, a person who lives in such a rigid space—not letting a fraction of sunlight shine through his armor of dogmatic discipline—is bound to suppress emotions way beyond the scope of what’s healthy.

If such a person, for example, experiences binging attacks, intense cravings, or chronic stress, it’s safe to say that they might have avoided it altogether if they simply developed awareness of their emotional nature.

And look, I understand:

It’s very easy to fall into absolutism about things—a kind of religious fundamentalism—because being a fundamentalist allows you, in a way, not to think.

If there’s only one way, if it’s all black and white, you don’t need to worry about nuance or complexity. No need for original thought or informed opinion.

But think about all the power you lose over your life just by delegating your right to take responsibility and choosing to some spirit of zealous control.

The problem with that kind of thinking is that it misses the point of thinking altogether, which is to solve real-world problems.

And the repressed emotions that stack up as a result of such thinking can cause way more harm than good.

The non-dogmatic person knows when to be rigid and when to let go, and as a result lives in balance, peace, AND health—both physical and mental.

So, how do we know when to let go and when to hold tight? It’s simple. We come up with healthy habits.

A habit is something that you do repeatedly, almost unconsciously - like brushing your teeth before bed or making coffee in the morning.

You cannot tell for sure when it was that you acquired that habit, but you can probably bet good money on the fact that you made coffee and brushed your teeth for over 80% of your mornings—you don’t monitor that either. It’s just ingrained in you.

Could it be that there was a morning here or there when you didn’t brush your teeth? Sure. Stuff like that happens, so you pop a breath mint and carry on with your day.

But the point is very simple: if something is a habit of yours, you know you’re doing it most of the time—that goes for bad and good habits alike.

And we all know, contrarily, the people who never brush their teeth—a conversation in an elevator can become… Well, let’s say it builds character.

Allow me to illustrate my point more clearly by giving you an example from one of my favorite books:

The story is about a young, talented, but arrogant athlete who one day meets a mysterious spiritual teacher at a gas station.

The teacher takes the athlete under his wing and teaches him important spiritual, physical, and philosophical lessons about life.

Over the course of more than a year with the teacher, the athlete changes his nutrition and habits one hundred eighty degrees, develops iron discipline, abstains from sex, alcohol, and any unhealthy food, and trains every single day. He feels amazing.

He breaks athletic records, wins competitions, and feels stronger and more focused than ever—and he is very proud of his progress.

One day, the teacher asks him to meet at a bar.

Confused in regards to the venue selection but still devoted, the athlete shows up at the designated bar.

The teacher signals the waitress and orders a double scotch. The athlete, shocked by the teacher’s choice, orders sparkling water, as his training demands.

While the waitress goes to fetch the whiskey, the teacher pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one.

“Want one?” the teacher offers.

“Absolutely not! What’s going on here?!” The student bursts out. “I don’t get it… You’ve spent this whole year teaching me to abstain from all this. You know how hard it was for me! And now, here you are, ordering whiskey and lighting a cigarette?! What’s going on?!”

The message the teacher wanted to convey is simple:

“The problem isn’t the one-time act. It’s the habit.”

(If you’re wondering about the book, it’s “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior”—Dan Millman.)

Having awareness of your habits gives you an idea of the big picture and helps you avoid the dogmatism, rigidity, and unmitigated stress that come with stepping out of the scheme of those habits for a moment.

In other words, as long as you adopt healthy habits and maintain them, you’re generally OK.

In summary

Is smoking bad? Yes, if practiced as a habit. Is one cigarette bad? In the grand scheme of things, probably not.

Is cake/pizza/chocolate bad? It depends on how often you eat it and what you want out of your life.

If all your friends go out for a beer, and you tell yourself, “Alcohol is bad,” and order sparkling water instead—even though deep down you really want a beer—and this repeats day after day… The level of chronic stress this creates as a result of such rigidity will begin to affect your mental state, and ironically, the health you are trying so hard to maintain.

It could very well be that one sunny day, after a year of dogmatism, you’ll find yourself at the corner store demolishing a six-pack of beer in secret, just to satisfy a craving you’ve suppressed for too long. And then it becomes a once-a-week thing. And there, you have an unhealthy habit that sprang up from repressed emotions.

On the other hand, if you view the world with more flexibility and are aware of your habits, you can say, “Hey, I ate well and trained hard all week—I earned that beer. Maybe even two. Why not? It’s not like it’s a habit of mine.”

In theory, it’s easy and comfortable to live in a world where everything is predefined and clear. In reality, though, the world outside of theory is seldom black and white. In fact, there are many shades of grey.

Someone who chooses to ignore those shades and risks seeing the world through a simplistic and false lens holds an approach that often leads to repressing emotions that will manifest as unhealthy habits.

As long as your habits—the bulk of your behavior—support your goals, your health, and your values, you're on a good path.

But behavior cannot be 100% rigid; otherwise, you’re entering the danger zone of “perfect,” which is the enemy of “good.”