Conditioned hypereating

Michael Mitchell, LPC

12/16/2009 7:37:07 PM

I have worked in the addiction field for 18 years and have been fascinated in the growth of knowledge concerning how our "reward pathway" can be subverted from those items that bring us positive short/long term consequences to those who bring the opposite. What is even more interesting is that there are a larger number of people who, while perhaps nursing some "vices," seem to find a way to learn from their own or the experiences of others. My limited knowledge of this phenomena points to the our neuropathways and how they have been conditioned (mapped) to react to temptations. Perhaps this explains the "self-control" that exists in the reasoning of many.

If this is true, then can we blame activities like "conditioned hypereating" on advertising, leaving us much like a bass examining a far too tempting lure? Does the problem lay within a system of neuropathways that are predispositioned to excess and thus negative consequences? In the treatment field we know that "the light bulb has to want to be changed" before new behaviors can be explored and learned on an individual basis. Thank you for an intriguing introduction to a possible answer(s) to the "hamster wheel" of addiction many find themselves running!