While it is not officially classified as an eating disorder, emotional eating or overeating can be equally distressing for those who struggle with it. We have all found ourselves reaching for comfort food after a difficult day - whether it is indulging in ice cream when upset or chipping away at a pack of biscuits when bored.

Emotional eating can pose significant problems when frequently used to escape feelings and emotions. Although this behaviour may provide short-term relief, it is important to understand the reasons behind your emotional eating and identify your needs that are otherwise not being met.

Written by Nadine Seif, BSc, Assistant Psychologist, Sloane Court Clinic

What is emotional eating?

Emotional overeating or emotional eating involves turning to food as a way to cope with life’s challenges and to regulate difficult emotions. Dr Sajdah Zaman, Clinical Psychologist at SCC, insightfully comments that “overeating as a response to psychological distress tells us something important about our relationship with food and should be viewed with compassion rather than judgment.” Highlighting the value of investigating with curiosity, she says eating that is emotionally driven “should direct us to understand the underlying reasons why someone turns to food. In the short term it may seem like it helps to regulate, self-soothe or numb feelings. However, overeating is likely reflecting deeper unmet emotional needs and disconnection.”

Common examples of emotions that may trigger emotional eating include anxiety, sadness, frustration, shame and guilt, although the behaviour can be triggered by any emotion. People often use food to distract themselves or self-sooth. In other cases, food can be used to fill a sense of emptiness or boredom or even used as a way to reward or punish oneself for certain things. While the short-term effects may feel positive, people generally feel worse following their emotional overeating episode - often experiencing shame, regret, guilt, worry and even lower mood than before.

Everyone will experience emotional eating or overeating differently, but a few commonly reported patterns are:

• The Vicious Cycle: People may find themselves stuck in a vicious cycle of experiencing distress, over-eating, feeling temporary comfort and relief followed by feelings of guilt and shame. This may then result in weight gain, possibly leading to poor self-image leading back to distress and allowing the cycle to begin again. This damaging loop can become harder to break over time so addressing the issue early on is encouraged. Recovery allows for healthier ways of emotional regulation to be employed at the point of distress rather than eating, and breaks the cycle.

• Relationship with food: Emotional eating causes people to view food as an emotional crutch rather than a source of nourishment. This can create unhealthy connections between emotions and eating habits, which may lead to difficulties in recognising hunger cues and one’s true nutritional needs. The association of food with uncomfortable emotions may also take away the element of pleasure and connection with others that mealtimes and cooking provide to many.

• Weight Fluctuations: Emotional (over)eating can lead to weight gain, followed by attempts to restrict food intake to offset the excess consumption. This is especially the case during times of stress as there will likely be more triggers. This pattern can contribute to an unhealthy relationship with food and an increased risk of developing an eating disorder or emotional distress from the fluctuations in weight themselves.

What to do if you struggle with emotional eating:

Recovery allows for healthier ways of emotional regulation to be employed at the point of distress, rather than relying on eating. Here are some things to do if you feel the above may apply to you:

• Self-reflect: Understanding the reasons behind your emotional eating is the first step to breaking the cycle. There is likely an unmet emotional need or a pattern that triggers this behaviour. Recognising situations in which this behaviour arises, or the emotions you feel just before can be very helpful in figuring out what is going on.

• Try to develop healthier coping mechanisms: Once you have identified triggers that are specific to you, learning how to manage your emotions without relying on the comfort of food is also important. Things like mindfulness, journaling or making some art, engaging in sports or any physical activity or speaking to friends can all be good alternatives. Everyone will find some things suit them better than others so it may be a matter of trial and error before you find your healthier emotional outlet.

• Seeking support: If it seems too challenging a task to do on your own, professional help is very much available. A psychologist or psychotherapist can help you identify your triggers and develop strategies to change you eating behaviour in response to them. Nutritionists or dieticians can also help you develop a balanced approach to your meals and work on your emotional wellbeing starting with addressing the food first.

Overall, emotional eating may offer temporary relief but is not an adaptive way of coping with your emotions and can negatively impact your relationship with food. As Dr Zaman puts it, “emotional overeating may stop people from learning more adaptive ways to manage and therefore inadvertently continue the negative cycle of overeating.”

Recovery includes recognising the root cause and finding healthier ways to regulate your emotions. By developing these alternative, healthier coping mechanisms it is possible to break free from the cycle of emotional overeating and foster a more positive balanced approach to food and emotional well-being.