ABSTRACT
Tolerance is important for several reasons. This chapter argues that the tolerance can be quelled through techniques used in classic substance use recovery. Food-addicted clients may be able to recognize the behavior in them. The fields of addiction and pathological eating have developed neurological descriptions of tolerance through animal studies and brain-imaging research. As tolerance and withdrawal develop, brain stress systems, such as corticotropin-releasing factor, norepinephrine, and dynorphin, are recruited in the extended amygdala and contribute to the development of negative emotional states in withdrawal and protracted abstinence. "Loss of control" is thought to result from deficits in restraint functions, which would otherwise suppress addictive eating. A grounding in understanding of progression in processed food addiction (PFA) helps the practitioner diagnose PFA, even in early-stage cases where increases may be small. Learning about progression helps practitioners feel grounded in the PFA model and incorporate helpful recovery protocols into their practice.
