Find a Meeting

Am I a Compulsive Eater?

Only you can answer that. The questions below are a private, no-pressure way to reflect on your relationship with food. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent anywhere.

A gentle place to start

Many of us spent years wondering whether our eating was really a problem — or whether we just needed more willpower. If you have picked up food when you weren't hungry, felt unable to stop once you started, or hidden how much you eat, you are not alone, and you are not broken. Take a quiet moment with the questions below. There are no wrong answers, and no one is keeping score but you.

A short self-assessment

Sample self-assessment — the official CEA-HOW questions will be inserted here. The items below are placeholder examples to show how this works; they are not the official CEA-HOW questionnaire. For the official questions, see ceahow.org.

  • Do you eat when you are not physically hungry?
  • Once you start eating certain foods, do you find it hard to stop?
  • Do you eat in secret, or hide food or wrappers from others?
  • Do you turn to food to cope with stress, sadness, boredom, or anxiety?
  • Have your attempts to control your eating on your own repeatedly failed?
  • Does thinking about food, weight, or your next meal take up a lot of your day?

The official CEA-HOW questions

This page offers only a sample. CEA-HOW publishes an official "Am I a Compulsive Eater?" self-quiz on its worldwide website. To take it, visit ceahow.org.

Whatever your answers — you're welcome here

A questionnaire can't diagnose you, and it can't decide anything for you. But if these questions stirred something, the next gentle step is simply to listen. You can visit any CEA-HOW meeting — online, by phone, or in person — with no commitment, no cost, and no obligation to say a word. You can also learn more about the program first. Recovery starts with a single honest moment, and you've already taken it.