Feeling Out of Control with Food?
Practice these simple techniques before you binge or emotionally eat
When difficult emotions trigger the desire to binge or emotionally eat, there are a few things you can do to change direction and choose an alternative way to cope with care.
But first, be gentle with yourself.
Despite what our diet culture might have you think, wanting to binge or emotionally eat in the first place does not make you a failure or a bad person; at one point turning toward food to soothe or distract yourself served a purpose in helping you cope with overwhelming emotions or circumstances. You did the best you could with the tools you had at the time. Now that you are in a different time and place in your life, you can work on addressing your binge eating by turning toward other resources in times of need.
Here are a few techniques you can use to cope with distress in a more caring and compassionate way.
1. Bring your awareness to your breath
As you breathe in, be aware that you are breathing in, and as you breathe out, be aware that you are breathing out. Take 3 long, slow deep breaths. Perhaps you can feel the top of your lungs, the middle of your lungs, and then the bottom of your lungs fill with air as you breathe in. And as you breathe out, feel the bottom of your lungs, the middle of your lungs, and then the top of your lungs release your breath.
2. Get curious about your experience
Now take a mindful moment and pause and do a “you turn” and ask yourself, “What I am feeling right now? What am I telling myself about the current situation or myself? What do I need right now?” This can be a lot of information. The most important thing about this step is to bring compassionate curiosity, not judgment, to your experience, in the same way, you would with a good friend.
3. Respond with care
What you might find is that you are actually hungry because you’ve been restricting, in which case, eating a nourishing and satisfying meal is truly what you need. If you have the urge to binge for emotional reasons, food usually is not very high on the list of things you actually need at that moment. Exploring what you do need can help you address your difficult emotions in a more attuned and caring way.
Perhaps, you need some connection, so you can try talking about your feelings with someone safe, like a friend. Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed and taking a break and walking outside in nature or meditating can help calm your mind. If you need comfort, taking a bath, having a warm soothing cup of tea, or watching a familiar feel-good movie might be just the ticket.
Seeking comfort in food is normal.
It only becomes an issue when you repeatedly turn to emotional eating or bingeing to address issues that are otherwise going unresolved.
Using eating to soothe or distract yourself may have developed as a way to survive when you were younger and did not have the internal or external resources to cope with what was going on at that time. It’s important to work with those parts of you that turn toward food and appreciate them for helping you cope up to now, and work on healing the pain and burdens that they are trying to protect, as no amount of food will feed a hungry heart.
If you want to stop binge eating or emotional eating…
Then, take a purposeful pause to consider other ways to address your needs. You can practice these new ways of relating to yourself and change how you respond to your stress, loneliness, and other struggles by giving yourself what you really need.
Begin Binge Eating Disorder and Emotional Eating Therapy in California
If you’re in California and would like support with recovering from body shame and disordered eating, reach out today for a free 15-minute consultation. Our team of compassionate, trauma-informed therapists is ready to help. You don’t have to do this alone.
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Other Services Offered At Kindful Body
Kindful Body offers therapy for binge eating to clients 14 and older across California, as well as support for low self-esteem issues, emotional eating recovery, nutrition counseling, grief counseling, binge eating disorder, body image therapy, and relationship therapy. When you’re ready, we are here to help you with your eating disorder recovery whether you need eating disorder treatment in Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland/Berkeley, Walnut Creek, San Mateo, Orange County, CA, or anywhere online in California.
