Emotional Eating Disorder occurs during times of stress and high anxiety. The American Dietetic Association has stated half of all binge eaters are triggered by difficult situations which happen during normal activities. It’s not necessarily the degree of a negative event that causes the binge eating, but the lack of copping skills which causes the acting out. The individual who is able to put a negative event behind them are unaffected but those that obsessive over the situation are apt to try to sooth their nerves with Emotional Eating.
Eating Disorder Professionals say those that strive to have healthy eating habits could benefit from developing more effective methods of handling their stress. The Journal of Clinical Psychology writes that people are easily tempted by unhealthy foods when no positive alternatives were perversely developed. When healthy cooping skills were learned giving into temptations was reduced by half.
Eating Disorder Treatment Centers teach clients to insert positive thoughts where negative thoughts previously existed. People are taught to partake in a positive activity when faced with temptation. Having a support system to talk to during difficult situations allows one to interrupt the compulsive eaters thinking. This same strategy is used in drug rehab centers Individuals who were able to use these strategies successfully avoided temptations 85% of the time.
Avoiding feelings through emotional eating can lead to major health problems. Bing eating increases the caloric intake causing overweight and obesity. These health issues can lead to more serious conditions such as Cancer, Hypertension and Diabetes. We all need to be able express our emotions in a healthy manner; but those who suffer with Emotional Eating Disorder may actually be able to save their own life by adopting new strategies for emotional expression.