If you find yourself munching instead of crying or chomping when you should be cleaning the

kitchen, you may have developed the habit of emotional eating as a way to cope with the stresses
of everyday life. Emotional eating is a habit, a learned response to emotional triggers that can be
unlearned.

What exactly is emotional eating?

Emotional eating is the habit of eating or not eating in response to an emotional trigger, rather
than eating only when hungry or for pleasure. Emotional eaters feel at the mercy of the pantry;
they feel out of control of their eating habits. Not all emotional eaters are overweight; in fact
some emotional eaters respond to certain cues by not eating. Likewise, not all emotional triggers
are negative emotions. Some emotional eaters respond to positive emotions with the desire to
celebrate through overeating or not eating at all. Emotional eating is considered an unhealthy
habit since it can lead to obesity or malnutrition, depending on the severity of the habit and the
specific relationship of food to emotions.

Signs of emotional eating

You may be an emotional overeater or eater if you find yourself doing the following things:

 Eating more than you need to eat in response to stress, boredom, grief or unhappiness
 Refusing to eat after hearing bad news
 Grazing throughout the day on unhealthy kinds of foods or unhealthy amounts of food
when you experience a particular emotion
 Craving a particular food in reaction to a specific event or mood
 Eating until you are overly full when celebrating
 Rewarding yourself with food when you are tired, overworked, or went out of your way
to do extra
 Trying to quell anxiety by eating until you are stuffed

Why do some people overeat and some people starve themselves in response to the same
emotional triggers?
How you respond to emotional issues is an individual as your preferences and likes and dislikes.
Every person is emotionally unique, and your ways of coping with stress, discomfort, pain, loss,
joy and accomplishment is different than every other person.  When your responses to emotions
lead to unhealthy eating habits, you need to find ways to reform your coping strategies.

Tips for overcoming emotional eating

Your goal is to establish a healthy relationship with food, where eating is emotionally linked to
nourishing your body and enjoying that nourishment without overindulging or punishing your
body by withholding needed calories and nutrients. The following are suggestions for
overcoming emotional eating habits:

 Keep a food diary. If you suspect you have emotional eating issues, start keeping a food
diary. Write down everything you eat and how you were feeling emotionally when you
ate those items. Make notes as to if you overate or if you skipped meals and how you felt
before and afterwards. Did you feel guilty? Did you feel uncomfortably stuffed?
  Identify emotional eating triggers. Try to determine what feelings are triggering your
unhealthy eating habits. Do you crave salty foods when you are stressed out? Do you
indulge in fatty or sugary foods when you feel the need to celebrate an accomplishment?
Do you reward yourself with a large meal when you've worked hard for something? Are
you unable to eat when you are sad? Do you eat too much ice cream when you are angry?
Look for patterns.
 Develop alternative strategies to overcome emotional eating. Once you identify what
emotional triggers result in unhealthy eating patterns, proactively decide to handle those
emotions in a healthier manner. Possible alternative strategies can include drinking a cup
of tea, breathing slowly with meditation, working out at a gym, calling a friend or writing
out problems in a journal.

What should you do if you can't beat emotional eating on your own?
ome people can't overcome emotional eating on their own. If you feel like your eating habits are
out of control, consider joining a support group, going to your doctor for help, or enlisting the
help of a trusted friend or relative.