Whether it started in childhood or as an adult, if you struggle with emotional eating, take comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. In my practice, I’ve worked with people who eat without even understanding why. They feel like they’ve lost control of their eating habits. A quick snack becomes a full meal—a handful of chips becomes a whole bag—and afterward, they’re left feeling ashamed, guilty, and regretful.

While we tend to treat emotional eating as a personal failing, the reality is much more complicated than that. Our bodies are complex, fantastic machines, constantly looking for equilibrium—and while it’s true that we need to eat to keep our bodies fueled, we also eat to balance out our hormones. Our eating habits aren’t simple.

Top Causes of Emotional Eating

Every person’s triggers are different, but there are several common ones that tend to lead people to indulge in unhealthy or emotional eating. In most cases, when our eating habits are correlated to our emotions, they’re tied to a few key areas, including:

• Pleasure

• Boredom

• Stress

• Sadness

• Irritation

Critically, none of these things have to do with hunger. So what’s going on when we’re eating in response to emotions like these? In short, it’s how we’re wired. Finding food activates the reward centers of our brain, flooding us with a shot of dopamine that feels good. As a result, when we’re feeling negative emotions, eating becomes a way for us to relieve or mask those feelings with a temporary boost.

Stressful Situations

Each person’s capacity for stress is different—but we also have different capacities for different types of stress. Some people tolerate deadlines and poor reviews at work without sparing a second thought for them. Other people are unbothered by friction with friends or the end of a relationship. If you think about yourself and your own eating habits, are there situations that tend to trigger an emotional eating response?

Common examples include:

• Being in the Car: Heading into the office or home at the end of the day.

• Financial Deadlines: Knowing you have a big balance on your credit card or bills due.

• Relationship Issues: Trouble with your wife or husband; trouble with your kids.

For someone with an emotional eating issue, it’s important to understand what triggers you to overindulge. Which situations or emotions in your life are you tolerating by self-medicating with a bowl full of ice cream?

Eating may make you feel better temporarily—but it won’t solve your problem. Instead, you’ll need more and more dopamine to get the same relief from your stress—which means eating more, or seeking out sweeter foods.

Solutions

Overcoming emotional eating is difficult, but not impossible. While you’ve probably heard diet and exercise recommended throughout your life, that’s not always easy for people. Exercise is difficult when you’re carrying around a lot of extra weight—and it’s easy for people to get discouraged by a new diet if they don’t see immediate results.
Instead, try some of these methods for rethinking your relationship with food, and your perspective on what’s going on in your body when you catch yourself eating emotionally:

• Identify Your Triggers…know what leads you to eat.

• Practice Self-Control…one hour at a time with regulated breathing to keep your body calm.

• Healthy Alternatives…stir fry instead of hamburgers and fries.

• Find Emotional Outlets…like a walk or talk with a therapist.

• Be Kind to Yourself…When you fail, tomorrow is a new day to try again.

In addition to learning your triggers, give yourself a chance to practice self-control. Give yourself the opportunity to score some wins. Ordering out, or picking up fast food for the family? Skip out instead and enjoy the rush of dopamine from making a healthy choice. Constantly heading to the fridge for a snack out of habit? Stock it with pickles, cucumbers, or healthy alternatives. Start a journal to track your wins—and be kind to yourself when you slip up.

Get Help Today

Tackling an issue like emotional eating can be difficult to do alone. If you’re interested in getting support, please reach out to me today so we can talk about how I might be able to help. I would love to support you on your journey to a healthier you.