Eating Disorders Advisors Are You Frustrated because you know you are not able to stop emotional eating?
Do you realize you are feeling emotional discomfort, but avoid experiencing the discomfort?
Do You Find it Impossible to Stop Emotional Eating?
Some people have difficulty figuring out what emotions they are feeling. Others try to avoid feelings at all costs. The primary cause of emotional eating is that opinions are considered wrong, and eating is an ideal method of avoidance. The meaning of feelings and emotions can be very different for each of you depending on early experiences in your family with experiencing and expressing emotion.
Do You Try to Push Away Uncomfortable Feelings and Emotions
Some people grow up with the belief that experiencing vulnerable feelings and emotions show weakness. Some feel anger is totally unacceptable because it might have frightened them as children because the expression of anger by adults may have been destructive or violent.
Memories of violent behavior or frightful outbursts may be associated with feeling terrified. To cope with this terror some children shut down or medicate with food as a survival skill. Some children, learn the moment they begin to experience emotions bubbling up the fear takes over and they quickly must shut it down. Often people turn to food to soothe or numb out these feelings,
Tips to Stop Emotional Eating
Separate Feelings from Behavior
People usually try to avoid feelings because emotions can cause discomfort. You may associate past eating behavior with feelings. Emotions can trigger memories of terrifying or scary behavior and loss of control. To stop emotional eating, it is important to begin to separate the emotion from the behavior. Notice uncomfortable feelings as they arise. Awareness of discomfort can help with avoiding feelings.
Learn to Recognize Emotions as they Arise
To Stop Emotional Eating recognize your feelings. Learning what you feel can be difficult if you are used to avoiding emotions. A helpful technique is to notice feelings that you are experiencing even if you are not sure how to label them. A second technique that is used is to become aware of your body’s internal signals. If you crave a specific food, check to see if you are hungry, if not, listen to your internal self. Stop and ask yourself ” What am I feeling?” What am I thinking”? or” What event precipitated the craving?” If all you get is a word write it down. If you continue you might see a pattern.
Understanding Feelings
Feelings can be uncomfortable, however, emotions let us know about ourselves and others. Anger can tell you if you are hurt or something is wrong! Sadness helps you feel loss and disappointment! Frustrustration can let you know you are angry at being stopped! Feelings can move us up or down, depending on who or what we are reacting. Find words to describe your internal feeling experiences. Some of these include happy, sad, angry, hurt, excited, depressed, frustrated, anxious, as well as many other emotions. You may have had challenging experiences as a child. Some children become so fearful of feeling too much they shut down feeling. Leaning those unpleasant feelings are temporary. Allow yourself to experience feelings and observe them defuse inside can be very helpful.
Particular Feelings Can Help Evaluate Interactions and Situations
In helping us to understand ourselves rather than thinking of feelings as enemies they can really be our friends. They tell us who we are by their energy and flow and by their relationship to when we are doing too much by our experience of overwhelming. Feelings can relieve us of tension understood. Anxiety or Stress can help you see fear, it can be a cover-up for more challenging feelings that might be inappropriate. You may fear anger or sadness will be triggered to feel out of control or embarrassed.
