Emotional eating corresponds to the tendency of overeating when not physically hungry in response to emotions such as sadness, stress, anxiety, or boredom. This article will help you understand how to identify emotional eating.
Emotional eating is associated with the following characteristics:
- Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
- Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry
- Eating much more rapidly than normal
- Eating alone out of embarrassment over amount eaten’
- Feeling disgusted, depressed, ashamed or guilty after overeating
The triggers of emotional eating are often times subjective, sometimes even difficult to identify. It may involve the receipt of negative feedback, a breakup, or anticipation about an upcoming event. No matter the trigger, many of us can relate to the temporary relief that is felt from gravitating mindlessly to the comfort food of our choice.
What are the problems associated with Emotional Eating?
Emotional eating is one of various behaviors that, in the context of experiential avoidance, functions to help us cope with emotions. I can remember times of high stress in my life when I had suddenly found myself rummaging through my kitchen in search of comfort food, even after assessing that I was not physically hungry.
By trying to escape from our feelings our minds are saying, “Danger, it’s bad to not feel ok.” This message fuels the behavior that we use to push uncomfortable feelings away triggering emotional and psychological consequences such as obesity, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal problems, and type 2 diabetes.
What should I do if I have a problem with Emotional Eating?
One of the goals often set in therapy, is learning the skills to manage uncomfortable emotions or situations instead of acting on emotionally driven behaviors. When dealing with emotional eating, it is at times possible to identify a cycle or feedback loop that reinforces the behavior due to the short term relief felt by avoidance or distraction from an emotion.
By learning the skills to better manage emotions, one can better control emotional eating . In the next blog on emotional eating, I will describe approaches that may help manage this tendency.
Useful Links
- National Eating Disorder Associations (NEDA) – https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
- National Alliance for Eating Disorders – https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com
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Therapy can be a safe space to work on having a more mindful approach our inner experience. If this post resonated, and you find that cognitive distortions are affecting your well-being feel free to reach out to schedule a FREE consultation.
