This is from Leslea Newman's SomeBody to Love, an eating disorders/body image workbook (Third Side Press, 1991) that I can't recommend highly enough. I hope doing the exercise helps. It'd take you 30-45 minutes.

Instructions: close your eyes and for ten minutes imagine yourself at the end of a binge. How do you feel physically? How do you feel emotionally? What do you still want...what else do you need? Now, spend ten more minutes picturing yourself at your most sane, balanced, calm, and self-controlled, watching that binger eat and regret as if she's a beloved friend or child. You can see that she was taking care of herself in the best way she knew. You can see her pain--the guilt, the self-loathing, the regret--after the binge.

With compassion and love for her, write the Binger a letter, telling her how much you appreciate her. Be kind, accepting, and gentle. Treat her as if you are a wonderful, loving parent. Offer support, not blame. Remember, she was doing the best she knew how at the time.

Newman's follow up says, in part:

"Many of us want to forget the past...[but] this sad little girl full of self-hate will always be with you. She needs love and care. Many of us want to ignore her. We're angry at her....

"I don't think you will be able to let go of this part of yourself until you fully accept her and even love her. She was very creative and resourceful to think of a way to cope with your particular painful situation, whether that was sexual abuse, having an alcoholic parent, or just the plain loneliness of being a human being on the planet. [Bingeing] worked [to soothe the pain] for awhile. Now it doesn't work anymore and you need to find other ways to cope with the pain and joy of being alive. You can't take away the bingeing...without replacing it with something else. I suggest...replacing it with self-love"

I took the time to write the letter to my own binger, and found the exercise very useful indeed. How wonderful to hear comfort rather than self-blame! Self-blame creates more emotional pain, which drives more bingeing/cheating...so why not try a new strategy and learn to love that part of you who would cheat?

Razzle,
I binge.
I wish I didn't.
Thank you so much for posting the extract. It is beautiful. I will write a letter to my binger and hope I can help myself.