Many are not sure what the signs of emotional eating are. But, you may wonder if your habits are healthy, or if you are acting on compulsions that might be doing you harm.
5 Telltale Signs Of Emotional Eating
1. You feel eating is an emergency.
Do you ever feel that you cannot wait a minute to eat something? Maybe you feel upset, down, tense, anxious or bored, which makes you ignore the potential consequences of eating compulsively. Or, maybe the first thing you do when you walk in the door is go to the fridge, no matter what other responsibilities need your attention. Is it common for you to stop at the store and buy something to munch on for the ride home, even if you do not feel particularly hungry?
2. You crave only a few types of food.
Perhaps your mood shifts suddenly, and you crave a specific type of food. When you are unhappy or upset, do you usually turn to comfort foods such as sweet, salty or fatty foods?
3. You don’t trust yourself to stop eating around certain foods.
Do you often clear out your cupboards and get rid of anything that could tempt you later? Do you wonder how other people can have sweets and chips around for any period of time without binging on it?
4. In social situations, you are more interested in the spread than in catching up.
Do you find that you use celebrations as an excuse to eat? Maybe it becomes even harder to control yourself around food during these times. Does the anxiety of being around other people cause you to lose track of what you have consumed and eat more than you need? Maybe you eat because others are eating or simply because the food is there.
5. You choose not to eat when you are hungry as a way to feel more self-control.
Although restricting is not necessarily the topic, it is important to note that limiting food for emotional reasons is a sign of emotional eating too. Are you afraid that once you start eating you will not be able to stop? Maybe by not eating, you can keep your emotions tightly inside. Not eating when you are hungry will lead to the restrict-binge cycle.
Emotional Eating Is a Common Way to Seek Temporary Comfort.
Many people have engaged in emotional eating at some point or another. It is built into our framework as humans that food equals comfort. For a short period of time, emotional eating can cause a sense of release. Food actually changes the chemistry in the body and releases hormones that help you feel calm and happy. Emotional eating also can work to distract you and take your mind off of whatever might be bothering you at the moment. It numbs negative feelings and in essence, numbs the mind so you do not even have to think.
The Truth Is, Emotional Eating Is an Ineffective Way to Cope
Part of learning how to reduce emotional eating is to stay gentle and loving with yourself. If you do turn to food, be curious what is going on inside and stay with the feelings that arise from making that choice. Life can be challenging at times, and most of us would enjoy taking a mental holiday from the hustle and bustle. The problem with using food to cope is that by numbing out, your ability to process information accurately is inhibited.
Even though life is complex and often difficult, you have the capacity to get though any situation – if not by yourself, then with the help of others. By staying clear-headed and thinking through your problems, you can grow and reinforce your capacity to find solutions when your relationships, career, lifestyle, values, or goals are challenged. Emotional eating can set you up to live a life of solitude and buried emotions. When you continually turn to food instead of others for comfort and support, you might miss the opportunity to bond and connect with people.Here are a few examples of people who had signs of emotional eating and looked deeper into their compulsion and discovered new ways to cope.
Justin’s Late Night Avoidance
Justin craved food in the evening after his wife and children had gone to bed. He did not eat much all day, but enjoyed staying up late into the evening devouring snacks. Justin was often up socializing with friends online during the wee hours and as time flew by, the quantities added up.
Before he knew it, morning arrived, and he passed out with exhaustion.After spending time in therapy to look deeper into what was behind his late night eating, Justin discovered that he was trying to avoid going to bed. He knew that once he fell asleep, it soon would be time to get up and be a businessman, husband and father again.
The thought of these responsibilities seemed overwhelming, and enjoying snacks and socializing online was what he looked forward to. Unfortunately, this avoidance not only negatively affected Justin’s sleep, his exhaustion also kept him stuck at a job that he did not like while he buried his marital difficulties. With help, Justin realized that instead of facing his problems head on, he had been numbing out in order to feel comfort in the short term. With psychotherapy, Justin was able to address his deeper issues and found he could find solutions to his problems without having to turn to food.
Ann's Sensitive Nature
Ann noticed that even though she enjoyed seeing friends and going to social events, she could not help overeating when tempted. Time and time again, she tried different techniques, such as creating a written plan that stated her commitment to enjoying the connection with her friends instead of the connection with food.
However, as each night went on, Ann lost control and found herself gravitating toward food.After looking deeper in psychotherapy sessions, Ann realized that because she is such a sensitive person and feels deeply what others are feeling, as the night passes by, the intensity of other peoples’ emotions and energy became too much for her system to tolerate. Therefore, Ann used food to numb herself so that she could continue to be in a social situation.
After coming to this realization, Ann planned to make sure she took time to feel her feet planted on the ground and breathe throughout social events. She also integrated a visualization technique that helped her separate her energy from those of others.
If you feel as though you experience these signs of emotional eating, take the next step by reaching out to a professional who specializes in eating issues. You can breaking the compulsion.Gaining awareness into what is causing you to want to numb out and emotionally eat is key.I can help you get to the core issues so you will have more freedom and choice in life.
If you would like some extra support and are looking for a psychotherapist, please contact us for a free consultation to learn about how I can be of service.
To find out more about my services click here: Eating Disorder Treatment. Serving Boulder, Longmont, Denver.
For your other needs, you can count on April Lyons Psychotherapy Group, to help you heal and grow through EMDR therapy, somatic therapy, trauma therapy, and PTSD treatment – because we believe in your strength and potential for recovery.
