Coping with Emotional Eating during Covid-19: Covid-19 has resulted in tough challenges for all of us with Financial Worries, anxiety about the future and health concerns. Many people have lost their job and have been separated from loved ones. Also many of you are cocooning with larger stockpiles of food than normal, perhaps with people you have tense relationships with.

IF YOU FIND YOUR SELF EMOTIONALY EATING- YOU ARE NOT ALONE We ALL ENGAGE in EMOTIONAL EATING.

RESEARCH SHOWS THAT EMOTION PLAYS A HUGE ROLE ON EATING BEHAVIOUR

At times of high STRESS people turn to food. It’s totally NORMAL to celebrate or soothe/comfort with food. It becomes a problem however, if consuming energy dense, high sugar, HIGH CARBS FOOD, is one of your ONLY COPING MECHANSISM. It becomes a trap. The downside of Emotional Eating, is that it is linked to WEIGHT GAIN, FEELINGS OF GUILT, FOOD ADDICTIONS and the growing Obesity problem associated with higher risks of HEART DISEASE< DIABETES AND SLEEP APNEOA

STEP 1: Identifying Emotional Eating:

The challenge for most people is not in knowing what to eat, but WHY we eat

1) DO YOU EAT WHEN YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY. MAYBE SOON AFTER EATING A MAIN MEAL

2) DR GABOR MATE (Canadian Physician) writes about Hungry Ghosts – unprocessed psychological issues from your past, that are unconsciously leaking out in to everyday life and fueling overeating. You are probably craving EMOTIONAL NOURISHMENT.

3) FOOD is the fastest, cheapest, simplest way to feel distracted, IT WORKS !! We feel comforted, with immediate pleasure and fulfilment – it activates reward centre of the brain – DOPAMINE HIT

4) You DON’T WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO KNOW WHAT YOU EAT – when we hide what we eat from others its perpetuates our belief that there is something wrong with us – feeds into SHAME and fuels the behavioural expression of SHAME – SELF-CRITICISM and even worse self-hatred.

5) BANNING FOODS> We FEEL GUILTY FOR EATING – when eating we say ’I shouldn’t be eating this’, and we rob ourselves of the pleasure of the food. IT then becomes ‘forbidden/banned’ which we know anything we restrict – we CRAVE .

If you suspect that you have an emotional dependence on food ask yourself

• Do you eat more when you’re feeling stressed?

• Do you eat when you’re not hungry or when you’re full?

• Do you eat to feel better (to calm and soothe yourself when you’re sad, mad,

bored, anxious, etc.)?

• Do you reward yourself with food?

• Do you regularly eat until you’ve stuffed yourself?

• Does food make you feel safe?

• Do you feel like food is a friend?

Book an appointment for Compassion=Focused Therapy to address Emotional Eating and Overeating