What are the signs and symptoms of emotional eating disorder?
What is emotional eating?
Emotional eating, sometimes called stress eating or comfort eating, is using food to soothe negative emotions instead of addressing the underlying issue. Emotional eating often leads to feelings of guilt and shame, and can worsen pre-existing mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
What are the signs and symptoms of emotional eating disorder?
There are a number of signs and symptoms that may be indicative of emotional eating disorder, including:
1. Eating in response to negative emotions, such as stress, anxiety, sadness, boredom, or anger.
2. Eating more than necessary to satisfy hunger.
3. Feeling out of control while eating, or feeling like one cannot stop eating once they have started.
4. Eating even when not hungry, or continuing to eat even after feeling full.
5. Using food as a way to cope with difficult emotions or situations, rather than addressing the underlying issue.
6. Feeling guilty or ashamed after eating, due to feeling like one has overeaten or eaten “too much”.
7. Repeatedly trying to diet or lose weight, but being unsuccessful due to emotional eating.
8. avoiding social situations where food is present, such as parties or gatherings, out of fear of overeating.
9. Making excuses for why one cannot eat healthy foods, such as “I don’t have time” or “I can’t afford it”.
10. Feeling like one’s life revolves around food, or that one cannot imagine not eating.
If you or someone you know is exhibiting these signs and symptoms, it is important to seek professional help. Emotional eating can lead to a number of serious health problems, such as obesity, type II diabetes, and heart disease. It can also worsen pre-existing mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression. If you think you or someone you know may be struggling with emotional eating, please reach out for help..Extra resources
What are the most effective complementary and alternative treatments for emotional eating disorder?
Emotional eating is a complex issue that is best addressed with a comprehensive approach that includes both traditional and complementary and alternative treatments. While there are many effective ways to address emotional eating, the most important thing is to find what works best for you and to commit to making changes in your relationship with food.
One of the most effective traditional treatments for emotional eating is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT can help you to identify the thoughts and emotions that trigger your emotional eating, and to develop healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with these triggers. CBT is usually delivered in weekly sessions with a licensed therapist, but there are also many self-help books and online resources available that can guide you through the process.
In addition to CBT, other traditional treatments that can be effective for emotional eating include medication, nutrition education, and weight management counseling. Medication can be used to treat underlying conditions that may contribute to emotional eating, such as depression, anxiety, or food cravings. Nutrition education can help you to identify healthy foods and eating patterns that can help to reduce emotional eating. And weight management counseling can help you to develop healthy habits around food and exercise.
There are also many effective complementary and alternative treatments for emotional eating. Some of the most well-researched complementary and alternative treatments include mind-body therapies such as meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi; acupuncture; and hypnotherapy.
Mind-body therapies can help to reduce stress and promote relaxation, which can in turn help to reduce emotional eating. Meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi are all practices that can help you to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions, and to develop a more positive relationship with your body. Acupuncture can also help to reduce stress and promote relaxation, and has the added benefit of helping to reduce food cravings. Hypnotherapy can be particularly effective for emotional eating, as it can help to change your thoughts and beliefs around food and eating.
Ultimately, the most important thing is to find what works best for you and to commit to making changes in your relationship with food. If you are struggling with emotional eating, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional to develop a treatment plan that includes both traditional and complementary and alternative treatments.
We used mengeredstoo.co.uk to write this article about emotional eating disorder. Citation.