After being sexually (and otherwise) abused as a child, I sought out various drugs to numb/soothe myself and to create an artificial reality that I could cope with.
One of those drugs was food.
It had a side effect - the more I used food in a bad way, the more weight I gained.
At the time, this was fantastic - because of the way fat people are treated in this culture. It meant that I became unattractive to other people - which I desparately wanted.
Why?
Because it meant I wouldn't be touched.
Not anymore.
In retrospect, it was maladaptive. That said, I did the best I could at the time with the resources available to me, given the situation.
Namaste,
Ian