How Can an Emotional Eating Therapist Help Me? 8 Tips to Control Emotional Eating

Most people can relate to turning to a comfort meal or sweet treat after a hard day. But when does this practice go from an occasional occurrance to a consistent coping mechanism and become emotional eating? And can an emotional eating therapist help? 

Psychologist Jane Hobart, PsyD at Aspire Psychology shares about the differences between emotional eating and eating disorders, how to recognize when emotional eating has become a problem, and how an emotional eating therapist can help.

What Is Emotional Eating?

According to Dr. Hobart, emotional eating is classified as eating in response to emotional cues rather than physical hunger cues. This isn’t an uncommon behavior; many people turn to a favorite snack or meal when sad or stressed. However, it’s important to recognize when something more serious is going on.

Is Emotional Eating an Eating Disorder?

Emotional eating on its own is not an eating disorder—it’s a behavior. “If emotional eating starts to become a concern for someone, we would describe it as a disordered eating pattern rather than an eating disorder,” explains Dr. Hobart.

However, emotional eating can be a red flag in certain situations. When eating in response to emotions becomes compulsive and is used as a primary way to cope rather than a conscious choice, it may signal a more serious concern. In these cases, the behavior is often accompanied by feelings of distress, guilt, shame, or a loss of control. This pattern can be associated with binge eating disorder (BED).

The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines binge eating disorder as recurrent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food in a short period of time, accompanied by a sense of loss of control. During a binge episode, a person may feel unable to stop eating, even when they are no longer hungry or feel uncomfortably full. Afterward, they often experience intense shame, guilt, or disgust. To meet diagnostic criteria, these episodes must occur at least once a week for three months and cause significant distress or impairment in daily life.

“BED is not about willpower,” says Dr. Hobart. “It’s a serious condition driven by both biological and psychological factors, and it affects people across age, gender, and background.” Research suggests that roughly 1% of Americans meet criteria for binge eating disorder, making it the most common eating disorder in the United States. Many individuals with BED also experience co-occurring conditions such as depression or anxiety.

When Does Emotional Eating Become Problematic?

Food has the ability to spike dopamine in the brain, a feel-good chemical, so it’s unsurprising that food can be innately tied to emotions. Maybe a family chocolate chip cookie recipe takes you back to memories of comfort and childhood, or you have traditional dishes associated with celebrations or the holidays that spark fond feelings of nostalgia and happiness.

This is totally normal, and not a cause for concern. However, Dr. Hobart points out that emotional eating can become problematic when a person begins to rely on food to regulate their nervous system. 

“For some people, food has been consistently comforting throughout their lives when other sources of comfort were not available,” she shares. “For example, eating to generate good feelings and ‘perk up’ when they feel bored or to ‘take the edge off’ and numb out when they feel overstimulated. Emotional eating could also look like labeling foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and having your mood align with how you’ve eaten that day.”

She emphasizes that emotional eating is a very common and challenging concern, and that it’s more than just a matter of sheer willpower. If you find yourself regularly relying on food to regulate your emotions or nervous system, it’s best to check in with a medical provider to determine if a medical issue or medication is affecting your appetite or metabolism, as well as to speak with a therapist to address unresolved trauma or mood symptoms.

I Struggle With Emotional Eating: Can an Emotional Eating Therapist Help Me?

If you feel as though emotional eating is becoming a problem in your life or are concerned about disordered eating habits, therapy can be a helpful tool to regain a healthy relationship with food. With the support of a therapist, you’ll work to reduce overall stress, identify and explore emotional triggers that lead to emotional eating behaviors, and learn better coping mechanisms. Your therapist may implement Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) techniques to treat the root of your emotional eating issues.

Additionally, some patients may benefit from additional support from a dietitian or psychiatric prescriber for a more holistic approach.

If you suspect that you may have an eating disorder, it’s best to see a therapist who specializes in eating disorder treatment. You may also benefit from seeking support from an eating disorder treatment program.

What Steps Should I Take to Regulate My Eating Habits?

Are you ready to begin working toward kinder patterns for yourself? Here are a few first steps that Dr. Hobart recommends for people currently struggling with emotional eating:

1.) Regulate your nervous system throughout the day

Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to notice how you are feeling. If your nervous system activation is a ladder, are you at the top, feeling anxious? Are you at the bottom, feeling bored or dissociated? Think about how you can get to the middle of the ladder without food. 

Listen to an upbeat song, stretch, take a break, or take a moment to notice the room around you. When you regulate your nervous system throughout the day, you are less likely to have "spikes" of emotion that lead to emotional eating.

2.)  When you have the urge to eat, ask yourself if the hunger is physical or emotional

Physical hunger comes on gradually, usually a few hours after the last time you ate. There are usually physical signs like your stomach growling, or getting a headache, and if you’re actually hungry, most foods will sound appealing.

Emotional hunger comes on quickly, regardless of when you last ate. It's usually due to a trigger in your environment, like seeing a commercial or a cake on the table in the break room, and is often associated with a craving for a specific food.

3.) If you identify an urge for emotional eating, insert a pause before you act on the urge

For example, tell yourself you will spend 20 minutes doing an activity that regulates your nervous system and then ask yourself if you still want the food. This helps the behavior to become less automatic and increases your confidence that you can tolerate the feeling of not immediately acting on the urge.

4.) Eat healthy and nourishing food consistently throughout the day

Many people skip breakfast and lunch in an effort to control their weight and then become overly hungry and reach for convenience foods or overeat in the evening. In addition to a balanced breakfast and lunch, have a high protein snack before you leave your desk and take time to regulate your nervous system and come off of "auto-pilot" before you come home.

5.) Decrease stress and optimize sleep

When you're tired, your body tends to crave simple carbs and sugar because they are the quickest way to raise your blood sugar and get a little energy. When you've been stressed out and you start to unwind, your adrenaline decreases and your blood sugar decreases, which can cause these same types of carb and sugar cravings.

6.) Set a timer for 20 minutes when you eat

It takes about 20 minutes for your body to register a feeling of fullness. Most of us eat quickly and go for seconds. By the time our food catches up with us, we feel overly full and uncomfortable.

Take one portion of food, put the rest out of sight, and take your time to savor it. Putting your utensils down between bites and chewing thoroughly can help you to slow down and determine if your body actually needs something else to eat.

7.) Focus on your food

Turn off screens and other distractions when eating. Eat at the table instead of at your desk or in front of the TV. Look at the colors of your food, smell it, and taste it. 

8.) Optimize your environment

Either do not buy the foods you tend to eat compulsively or put them out of sight. If they're sitting on the counter, you're more likely to take a handful as you walk by. If you put these foods in the trunk of your car or on a high shelf, it will make you have to stop and think and put in extra effort, which will make your actions less automatic. Make the behaviors you want to engage in more obvious and easy, such as putting healthy foods at eye level in the fridge.

Say Goodbye to Emotional Eating With the Support of an Expert Therapist

If these tips are helpful, you may benefit from working with an emotional eating therapist. Your therapist will help you uncover and deal with the emotions behind your emotional eating behaviors, as well as to build healthier eating habits and develop new coping mechanisms. At Aspire Psychology, our team is here to support you as you begin building the life you aspire to.

Ready to take the first step? Connect with Dr. Hobart or another one of our clinicians today to get started.