Several things help manage food use as self-medication. Stop using wheat in your diet. (Read Dr. David Williams' best-seller called Wheat Belly.) As it turns out, wheat, rye, barley (and maybe oats) contain gluten, and gluten has a component in it called exorphins which act on the opiate centers of the brain, creating addiction that leads to demands every 2 to 3 hours for more wheat.

Stopping the use of wheat is less troublesome than stopping cigarette smoking, and it does help stop the over-eating because it stops the signals from the brain to eat more caused by exorphins.

Secondly, adding Omega 3 fatty acids is very calming for the system. I use Nordic Omega 3's because the flavor is pleasant and because they seem to work for me very well. (There are many other brands, though, that I feel are just as effective).

Finally, stop using sugar (if you can)! It's addictive,too, and for me is more difficult to stop than grains were, although grains raise glucose levels much higher than sugar does. Sugar has no nutritional value.

Keeping the fluids and tissues of your body in a slightly more alkaline state has remarkable ability to help your stability.

See sites such as http://www. AlkalineFoods.com or http://www.Acid-reactingfoods.com

Making those changes, if you wish to, will get you off to a good start to help you keep brain chemistry in better shape. It may even enable you later (only with your psychiatrist's permission) to lower the dosage of medications you will need to take.

Finally, try some meditation. Two little paperbacks have helped me along the way:
Keep It Simple and Forgiving and Moving On. The Hazeldon Foundation has a number of helpful publications that assist with giving insight into how to remain calm
and centered.

Good wishes on finding your answers. Stability is possible with self-concern and
dedication to better health.