Eating should really have nothing to do with emotional states. That is, eating should be about satisfying physical needs, rather than emotional ones.
And yet eating was originally, in infancy always associated with relief from distress, witness the crying baby immediately calming down as it begins to breastfeed. Thus, in fact, eating has always been closely associated with emotional as well as physical comfort.
It is therefore not surprising that eating continues to have a strong relationship with emotions into adulthood. Many adults report strong effects of emotions on overeating, including negative (anxiety, anger, depression), positive (celebration, relaxation, happy), and low energy (bored, insomniac, tired) emotions.
Individuals with high levels of emotional eating have feelings of loss of control over their eating, and their weight. Thus emotional eating decreases significantly over time among people who show improvement in weight management.
Getting emotional eating under control involves learning to associate eating with simple relaxation, not with stress or emotional coping. Individual or group therapy can help with overcoming emotional eating.
Enjoy simple pleasures!
Stephen Stotland, Ph.D.
