Are You An Emotional Eater?

I wanted to shed some light on an issue that is near and dear to my heart and one that I've been struggling with for many years- Emotional Eating.  Part of the reason I've really struggled with controlling my weight is because I am a big time emotional eater and have a hard time coping with stressful situations.  Take the last couple of weeks for example, I have been dealing with a few stressors both in my personal and work life and as a result of not having the tools to effectively cope with these situations, I ended up turning the one thing that I knew would comfort me-food.

When you think about it, there's no difference between those who suffer from emotional eating and those who suffer from addictions such as that with drugs and alcohol.  In fact, you can easily consider emotional eating a form of addiction itself. 

Bottom line here is that, those who suffer from any sort of addiction, including emotional eating, are either dealing with a deep underlying pain or are unable to effectively cope with stressful situations (as in my case).  

As of late, I've been really trying to understand this issue and have done a bit of research to find useful strategies to not only help break the habit but find alternative ways in dealing with stress.  

I found some really great information that I pulled from a few sources that I thought I'd share with my readers...

What is Emotional Eating?

Simply consuming food or large quantities of food in response to a desired emotion.  According to experts, 75% of overeating is caused by emotional overeating.

What Causes Emotional Eating?

Depression, boredom, loneliness, chronic anger, anxiety, frustration, stress, problems with interpersonal relationships and poor self-esteem.

How Do I break the Habit?

Become aware of how and why you may be using food as a coping strategy

Get help (talk to an expert such as a psychologist, social worker, or nutritionist)

Eliminate triggers

Talk to a friend

Re-direct your attention by doing relaxation exercises, going for a walk, listening to music, doing house-work or reading a book

Sources: medicinenet.com and athealth.com

Photo source: blog.ediets.com