For example, you may discover that you never say no, even though your schedule is already overloading. Then, you could practice respectfully refusing the next time someone asks you to do something, thereby freeing up time for self-care. If you struggle with high levels of stress and anxiety, it may be useful to seek the guidance of a qualified therapist.

You can learn effective ways to self-soothe in moments of heightened pressure and tension, including meditation and deep breathing exercises. You may also discover that your high-stress patterns serve a function for you just as food does.

Remember, your wellbeing deserves as much time, effort, and attention as anything else in your life. Read more: Ways to Calm and Soothe Yourself. If you feel a craving for food, pause for five minutes before eating. Just tell yourself to wait. According to Dr. By slowing that process down, you can begin to take control of emotional hunger.

Explore whether it stems from emotional or physical hunger. Questions like these can help you make positive eating choices and break the cycle of emotionally driven eating. These questions are intended to help you meet your deepest needs, and sometimes that will look like a snack!

The questions in the above strategy Pause Before Eating can be extremely helpful for intuitive eating. Especially if you have struggled with excessive calorie restriction in the past, remember that you have not failed if you have a treat. During the process of creating a healthier relationship with food, you may want to set some guidelines to avoid overeating or binging.

For example, you might try having a just a few bites of chocolate, then pausing to see if you are satisfied. This way, you can begin balancing cravings without restricting yourself or eating more than you really want to.

If you are craving fries, consider that you might really be craving something warm and salty. You might be satisfied with popcorn, or even with a baked potato. Instead, you can make the food choices that you really want to make easier and more accessible.

A short time after you have finished eating, check in with how you feel physically and emotionally. You might ask yourself:. If after 15 minutes you feel unhappy with the choice you made, reflect on how you might have acted differently.

But do it with a positive spin. Remember that the goal here is to learn from your mistakes, to take lessons away from your experience. I do not want you to feel angry at yourself or to beat yourself up for making a poor choice; all that will do is bring you down and lead you to even more emotional eating.

That is not the goal here. What you discover in this self-reflection can help you better understand your cravings and productively continue your journey to a better relationship with food. Remember to approach yourself with patience, acceptance, and compassion. As you try out the strategies explained above, you may find it helpful to write down your experiences in a food journal.

Calorie restriction is not the goal here—improved overall wellbeing is. So, if it seems helpful, try writing down how you feel before you eat, what you eat, and how you feel after. For example, you might write down how much time passes between meals and snacks, and track your mood at eating times and between.

Keeping a journal can help you notice patterns and recognize when and what you need to eat. Note: Only keep a food journal if it does not feel triggering for you. If you have struggled with eating disorders in the past, keeping a journal may create pressure for you that leads to unhealthy eating habits.

Do not do anything that leads to undue emotional distress. There are other ways to bring awareness to your relationship with food. Know that what you need is valid, and above all, take care of yourself.

Over time, as you practice intentional self-reflection, you may find that you often eat when you are bored, upset, stressed, celebrating, or otherwise seeking some sort of emotional fulfillment. It may be that you have responded to these emotions and experiences with food your entire life.

So, you may have to sit down and think about other interesting, appealing activities that you can try when difficult or powerful emotions arise. No matter what you do, start out by breathing deeply, which may actually fulfill you more than you realize.

Connecting with your emotions can often be the most comforting. Try writing your thoughts and feelings in a journal or reaching out to a friend for connection. If you are a creative person, take a break to work on a creative activity, such as scrapbooking, knitting, coloring, or gardening.

If you often eat socially, think about other activities that might bring friends together. For example, instead of meeting for happy hour, consider meeting for a guided art class. If you often eat to celebrate an occasion, consider an activity that might be more aligned with the spirit of your achievement and long-term goals.

For example, after you complete a long project, maybe you want to spend meaningful time with your partner more than you really want to go out to dinner. Instead, the process of understanding what you really want and seeking out activities that satisfy your needs should make everything more enjoyable and fulfilling, special restaurant dates included.

For example, you might snack when you return home from work, or while you are cooking dinner. Look for ways to approach transition times with greater awareness. Are you eating because you want to, or because you associate these brief pauses in your day with a snack?

Could that mean you need more pauses in your day? Or that you are seeking some other sort of relaxation or release in the pause? Instead, perhaps try practicing a short meditation. Look back on your day up to that point, or simply close your eyes and breathe. If you find that you are extremely hungry during these transition times, it may be that you are not eating enough throughout the day, but are too busy to realize it until you have a moment to catch your breath.

In this case, think of ways you can provide for your body even in the midst of a hectic schedule. Plan and pack appropriate snacks and schedule snack times in your planner or alarm clock.

Remember, your body needs fuel! The entire process of gaining awareness around your eating and interrupting patterns of emotionally driven eating can be trying. You may not feel able to imagine a reality in which you like yourself, let alone how you look.

You may avoid looking in mirrors or photographs. And, you may be accustomed to deflecting praise. But, practicing positive self-talk is as important as it is hard. Open yourself to the possibility that the cruel things you say or think about yourself may not be true.

Then, find ways to say small, true, positive things to yourself. This is about recognizing all the wonderful things about yourself that you might struggle to see.

Then, the next day, think about the first thing, and add a second. Create a small, personal collection of all of the things you value in yourself.

As described above, many people feel a distinct lack of pleasure in their lives and rely on food for brief moments of happiness. But, pleasure is not selfish or excessive. It is essential to the enjoyment of life, and to overall health and wellbeing.

Practicing mindfulness and mindful eating can help you begin to prioritize pleasure. Mindfulness is the process of bringing yourself fully into the present moment, becoming aware of your sensations in the here and now, without judgment.

You can become more attuned to pleasant smells, tastes, and textures and more in touch with sensory delight. More importantly, prioritizing pleasure means looking for enjoyment, fun, and comfort outside the realm of food.

Each day, try doing something that brings you joy. There is joy to be found in the process of discovery. Remember, take all the time you need, and grant yourself the gift of patience, curiosity, and self-acceptance.

Think about long-abandoned hobbies or interests you never had a chance to pursue. Can you pursue them now? Look for local classes, outdoor activities, and healing exercises. Soak in a bubble bath. Treat yourself to the pleasures you may have denied yourself for one reason or another. Allow yourself to believe that you deserve pleasure.

You do. Many people struggle to make happiness a habit. Just as it took a long time—maybe a lifetime—to develop emotionally driven eating habits, it can take time to embrace new ways of understanding your emotions and your relationship with food.

And, many changes can be difficult or even impossible to make without some form of professional support. There is nothing wrong with seeking professional help. And if you are struggling with anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, or something else or a combination , know that taking care of your mental health is a priority.

A therapist can help get to the emotional root of your triggers, set achievable goals, and address any challenges that arise along the way. By addressing emotionally driven eating in a holistic way, you offer yourself a greater variety of effective tools to practice and adopt.

With so many potential avenues for professional aid, you might question which is right for you and where you can turn to receive the diagnosis and support you truly need. One of the first steps professionals take before identifying emotional eating is to ensure a physical examination and lab work have been completed to assess genetic and medical factors that may be causing or contributing to your emotional eating.

After physical factors have been identified or dismissed, you are likely to talk to a mental health professional, who may ask you questions in a session or ask you to administer a self-test. You may also be asked to talk about any eating disorders you struggled with in the past, even if you no longer present symptoms or engage in the same disordered behaviors.

A mental health professional will want to make sure you are not triggered by any treatment plan. First, consider the kind of guidance and support you need and want the most.

Next, look for providers and clinicians who specialize in emotional eating or eating concerns in general. If you decide to work primarily with a therapist, know that the therapeutic relationship is key to long-term progress.

Above all, look for someone who makes you feel heard, understood, accepted, and validated. You deserve the opportunity to nurture your best self, with someone on your side. Everyone eats emotionally from time to time, and food is nothing to feel ashamed of.

Even if you feel as though your relationship with food must mean you are damaged or abnormal in some way, know that you are not alone, and that there are people who share your experience.

If you want to make a change in your life, there are proactive, practical steps you can take to change your relationship with food. It is possible to manage emotional eating and live a connected, fulfilling life based on your deepest needs and values.

If you are in the Texas area, join us for the Make Peace with Food program and overcome emotional eating. If you are outside the Houston area, we offer an online coaching program, Beyond Emotional Eating. These programs focus on helping you balance physical triggers, overcome emotion-driven eating and create long-term changes in your relationship with food.

Overcome emotional eating, compulsive eating and binge eating and get the support you need to thrive. Feel better and improve your emotional health — Sign up for our inspirational self-help articles and guides.

First Name Required Email Required Resources Topics Required What topics do you want to read about? Our therapists are committed to helping you feel better and find solutions that will work for you. We provide compassionate care to address the emotional, career, and relationship needs of children, teens, adults, families, and couples.

Therapy services are offered in person throughout Houston and Sugar Land, TX. Therapy is also offered online in multiple states throughout the US. The self-tests and quizzes are tools to help you with mental, emotional, career and relationship wellness.

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They offer workshops, educational programs, and online resources to promote body acceptance and resilience. Their approach emphasizes self-care, self-compassion, and body neutrality. Be Nourished is a body trust organization that offers workshops, trainings, and resources centered around body acceptance and healing from disordered eating.

They emphasize the importance of body autonomy, intuitive eating, and challenging diet culture. The Center for Mindful Eating is a non-profit organization that promotes mindful eating practices to support a healthy relationship with food and body. They offer resources, webinars, and professional training to promote a compassionate and non-judgmental approach to eating.

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Weight loss: Gain control of emotional eating Find out how emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts, and get tips to get control of your eating habits. By Mayo Clinic Staff. Show references Duyff RL. Reach and maintain your healthy weight. In: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Complete Food and Nutrition Guide.

New York, N. Whitney E, et al. Weight management: Overweight, obesity, and underweight. In: Understanding Nutrition.

Belmont, Calif. Braden A, et al. Eating when depressed, anxious, bored, or happy: Are emotional eating types associated with unique psychological and physical health correlates?

Spence C. Comfort food: A review. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. Hensrud DD expert opinion. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Products and Services The Mayo Clinic Diet Online A Book: The Mayo Clinic Diet Bundle. See also Portion control The Mayo Clinic Diet Energy density. Mayo Clinic Press Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic Press.

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Causes of emotional eating You may be able to stop stress eating or emotional eating by figuring out why you need comfort food. Know your emotional eating triggers Another way to control emotional eating is to figure out what your triggers are.

Distract yourself The best distractions from emotional eating are things that take only about five minutes—just long enough to help you switch gears.

Some ideas for switching gears include: going for a five-minute walk sitting outside putting on your favorite music and dancing calling a close friend to chat The more ways you can think of to distract yourself, the easier it will become over time to stop stress eating.

Seeking help If you're unsuccessful trying to stop stress eating on your own, consider turning to a therapist for cognitive behavioral therapy CBT. Share This Page Share this page to Facebook Share this page to Twitter Share this page via Email.

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