WARNING: Psychological Signs of Emotional Eating

The psychological symptoms of emotional eating include feelings of guilt, shame, self-doubt, blame, denial, anger, shock, confusion, anxiety, and a variety of other emotions that may prompt you to turn to food for comfort.

 if you have ever found yourself thinking about food or reaching for a snack even when you weren't physically hungry, you are allowing your emotions to control your eating habits.

When it comes to emotional eating caused by a traumatic event, you are likely to find yourself feeling numb and withdrawing from the friends and family around you.

You might also experience physical symptoms, such as insomnia or even nausea.

However, no matter the cause of your emotional eating, the behavior itself typically expresses itself the same way: with mindless consumption of comfort foods.

Most of us have been trained by societal norms to use food as a means of celebration, mourning, and entertainment.

So, when your body finds itself feeling a strong emotion that it doesn't quite know how to handle on its own, you are likely going to end up reaching for food to distract or comfort yourself.

It's simple to understand why we take comfort in food if you just spend a few moments considering all the ways that food has become essential to major life events and even our daily routines.

A lot of our life centers around the foods we eat, and so our bodies naturally begin turning to it when we have an emotion that we need to manage. Obviously, though, using food to manage our feelings simply isn't healthy.

That's why it's important that you recognize the symptoms of emotional eating and work to end it.

That will take a combination of addressing the root cause of the problem, your emotions, and also consider what you are eating when you do turn to food.

Simply changing your eating habits isn’t enough, you need to address the real cause of your emotional eating first.

WARNING: Physical Signs of Emotional Eating

When you emotionally eat, you tend to want to eat a very specific thing. In other words, you aren't physically hungry, where you have an appetite for a variety of foods.

Rather, you have a craving for a bowl of ice cream or a slice of cake or even a pizza. The specific food that you crave will depend on your favorite foods and what you associate with comfort in your life.

This craving, though, is worth noting. It can be difficult to distinguish a craving from physical hunger, but noting what food you are hungry for can help you identify emotional eating habits.

For instance, if you go into the kitchen really wanting a bowl of ice cream, that's probably a sign that you are emotional eating (because you are sad, bored, or feeling some other emotion).

To distinguish this emotional craving from physical hunger, simply give yourself a healthier option and ask if you're willing to eat it. If you don't want any real, nutritional food, this is just a craving and it should be addressed, not fulfilled.

This is an excellent way to check in with yourself before you eat and it can help you identify your emotional eating habits.

Another physical sign that you may look for is mindless eating. In other words, if you find yourself using food to keep your hands busy or just to pass the time, that's a major emotional eating symptom.

Unfortunately, we're often programmed to do this. We grab popcorn when watching a movie, we grab a snack while we work, and we typically snack on something when hanging with others.

Identifying the times when you eat even though you aren't physically hungry will help you overcome your emotional eating habits.

Finally, some other physical signs to look for include eating even after you're already full and eating very quickly.

Both of these can be linked to emotional eating habits and tell you that there may be an issue you need to address.

6 Signs You're An Emotional Eater

1. If you eat when you're stressed out, that means you are an emotional eater.

   If you find yourself reaching for food when you have a lot on your mind, you may end up grabbing a snack subconsciously just to keep yourself busy, and somewhat distract/comfort yourself, as you work or relax.

2. If you eat when you have a strong emotion, that means you are an emotional eater.

   Have you ever went to the kitchen when you suddenly felt anxious, tired, bored, empty, lonely, disappointed, annoyed, angry, or even happy or relieved?

   If so, you are using food to supplement your feelings.

3. If you eat when you feel down, that means you are emotionally eating.

   Eating a bowl of ice cream or a slice of cake in an effort to comfort yourself or seek relief from your feelings is not a good habit to be in and it can quickly lead to emotional eating.

4. If you can't stop yourself from eating, that means you are an emotional eater.

   If you have find yourself going into the kitchen and eating anyways even if you already know that you aren't truly hungry, that means you are eating just for your emotions and not for your physical body.

5. If you think about eating even when you aren't hungry, that means you are an emotional eater.

   Let's say you can control yourself and you don't always give into the urge to eat when you aren't hungry.

   Even so, when food comes to mind at times when you are full, that's a sign that you are an emotional eater.

6. If you get random cravings for food out of the blue, that means you are an emotional eater.

   These cravings may be completely random, and stem from boredom/depression, or they could be tied to a thought process or feeling you experienced without really realizing it.

   For example, you might begin craving cake once you realize you have nothing left to do for a while.

5 Stress Relief Techniques to Help Avoid Emotional Eating

Stress is tightly linked to overeating.

While, in the short-term, stress can actually cause you to lose your appetite, prolonged stress will lead to the release of cortisol within your system that will greatly increase your appetite and lead to increased motivation...including an increased motivation to eat.

This hormone can completely throw your diet for a loop, and that's why managing stress is often the best way to get to the root of your overeating problem.

Here are five techniques to help you do it.

1. Create A Schedule

Being able to manage your time better, plan ahead, and know what's coming are all important to managing and reducing your stress.

Creating a schedule with a day planner and sticking to it, then reviewing it periodically, is the simple secret to feeling like you have control over your days again.

2. Learn To Say No

Do you have a lot on your plate? Learning to say no to new projects is important to prevent overwhelm.

When you stretch yourself too thin for too long, you're just going to end up anxious and overwhelmed.

Instead of feeling pressured to take on things that you can't handle, look at your schedule and decide if you can do it or not--and when.

3. Boost Your Productivity

When it comes time to work, you can lower your stress by using any number of productivity-boosting tactics.

The Pomodoro method, for instance, uses a timer to help you break a long list of to-dos up into short 25 minute work increments.

Each stretch is separated by a brief 5 minutes break, and then you get one longer break to enjoy after you've worked for a few sessions.

 4. Practice Breathing

Learning how to breathe can help you get through a whole host of situations without becoming overwhelmed.

Practice breathing methods to improve your mindfulness and keep you centered and focused in the moment when it matters.

 5. Get Help

Are you overworked? Burning the candle at both ends won't get you very far for too long.

Instead of thinking that you are alone in dealing with your stress, think about the resources you have to lighten your load and get assistance, like asking for a deadline extension.

4 Ways to Stop Eating Out of Boredom

1. Distract Yourself

Plan your day, keeping yourself busy, and always having something to look forward to, so you won't have to turn to food to distract yourself from the fact that you have nothing to do for the moment.

Instead of using food as your distraction, try to keep yourself busy and productive. When you do start feeling bored, turn to a list of activities that don't involve food, like going for a walk or journaling.

2. Drink Water

On occasion, you may find yourself asking whether or not you're really hungry.

You may not be starving, but you could eat, so why not go ahead and do so just to keep yourself busy? When that feeling hits, you should turn to water instead.

Drinking water can help curb cravings and it will also give you a chance to reset and think of something more productive that you can go do instead.

3. Stop Yourself

Before you head into the kitchen to grab a snack, get yourself in the habit of being mindful and waiting a few minutes before you allow yourself to.

For instance, you might say you have to wait 20 minutes before you get your snack.

Typically, by bypassing your initial craving, the feeling will pass altogether and you will have found something else to fill your time.

4. Opt for Healthy

While the best way to overcome boredom eating is to not give in to your food cravings at all if you do find yourself heading into the kitchen, be sure you opt for a healthier choice.

Keeping unhealthy snacks out of reach, and out of the house, altogether will prove extremely beneficial for your long-term eating habits and health.