EXTRA: Extreme stress can lead to deadly eating disorders

Tampa, Florida - When you think about developing an addiction, you most likely think of drinking or doing drugs. But as more and more people stress out over their finances in this tight economy, some are becoming addicted to food.

Extreme stress of any kind can trigger addictions. For Pam Walcott, snacking was a way of coping. "It's crazy I actually owe a lot of money for college."

Relief from her worries came with every bite. She could easily eat an entire family sized bag of Cheetos.

"Literally, while I was watching TV, my hand would be going in and out of that bag until the point to where I sometimes almost always got to the bottom of it. So I could start and finish the bag."

Pam wouldn't stop there though she'd keep right on eating.
"I was kind of numb. I couldn't really feel like, you know, I was full until afterwards, I would feel really sick."

She started over eating when she was just 13 years old. She would always eat in private in her bedroom which would be littered with food wrappers. She'd even hide food under her bed. But the scale always revealed the truth.

Pam says, "When I graduated from high school, I was 188 pounds."

Away at college Pam's binge eating continued and it was magnified by the stress of juggling school, work and finances. She eventually tipped the scales at 230 pounds. She didn't realize what her problem was until during a psychology class when she was researching eating disorders.

She says that's when she finally figured it out. She was a binge eater.

Louise Wallowitz is the clinical director at the Hyde Park Counseling Center located at 207 West Verne Street. It's a residential treatment center for eating disorders and substance abuse. She explains what can trigger eating disorders.

"I think stress in general."

Wallowitz knows all too well how stress can lead to eating disorders. She was a binge eater too and packed on 110 pounds.

"I had a sick mother and she was sick when I was very young - grammar school - and I found food as something very comforting uh nurturing it was a way to disconnect." Wallowitz's story is almost identical to Pam's.

Pam's mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was a child. The stress of keeping her feelings bottled up over it started her emotional eating.

"She's losing her memory as well as her mobility and you know a lot of the other mothers they think right on point and they can run with their kids and do all sorts of exercises with them."

Pam's feelings about her mom are now out in the open and she says she's learned how to eat healthier and exercise. She's no longer stressing over her finances. She's a senior and she's looking forward to graduate school now after losing 80 pounds.

"I think I just eat to live. I don't live to eat."

Wallowitz says getting professional help is the key. She recommends that people with eating disorders see a therapist and a nutritionist. She says it's important to see someone who's experienced with treating eating disorders.

"Yes, without a doubt you can get well. There is recovery out there."

Pam's parents made sure she saw a therapist when she was a kid to deal with her mother's illness. "My biggest problem was that when I did see one I told them I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. You've helped me, thank you."

She says their mistake was that they believed her. Pam says she really felt she could deal with her eating disorder on her own.

Pam has started her own website in hopes of helping others. Click here to see it. She hopes to also write a book about her experience.

Click here to learn how to recognize an eating disorder.