“I’m going to build a house using only this hammer” CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) is one of the most popular forms of therapy that people seek these days for a wide range of issues. Today we look at if it can help eating issues.   STUPID IDEA OF THE WEEK Far be it from me to cast apersions on anyone’s truly healthy ice lollies…well actually, near be it because I, ahem, am doing just that. Ah, the creative engine that is reality TV…     MAIN SECTION (3 min 43) Does CBT work for binge eating? And if so, does it have any limits? CBT is a therapy that helps people identify and correct distorted thoughts than can affect their behaviour. And this is the really important thing to note here: in this approach, conscious, faulty thinking is at the root of behaviours such as binge eating. The principle is that thoughts create feelings, which create unwanted behaviours, which in turn reinforce the thoughts. I look at some evidence on this issue and give my opinion: where I see overlaps with my own coaching and what I see as its glaring inadequacies. I talk about the invisible forces behind binge- and compulsive eating that could well escape a CBT therapist.   RESOURCES The 14 days to  Freedom From Sugar Course is at: http://www.theshiftinside.com/freedom/   Find out more about 1 to 1 coaching at http://www.theshiftinside.com/coaching/     The video from the charity Mind is here: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/#.XcL_nDP7SUk   Current and Emerging Directions in the Treatment of Eating Disorders  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3411516/     The NICE article https://www.nice.org.uk/news/article/people-with-eating-disorders-benefit-from-specialist-cbt-and-self-help-programmes-says-nice   Episode 4: How sugar hijacks the brain: http://www.theshiftinside.com/audio-how-sugar-hijacks-your-brain/     Produced by Louis Morris