Comfort Eating

Why do I comfort eat?

Comfort eating is generally about using food to avoid confronting something, or to fill an emotional void in your life that you're struggling to cope with in other ways.

Unfortunately, food won't reslove underlying issues in the long run, and eating for comfort only provides temporary relief. After the food is gone, the problem still exists, and if your over-eating is resulting in weight gain, you may be feeling even worse. Most of us have 'bad' feelings – ones that are painful or difficult to face up to, so we do whatever we can to suppress them. For many people, food is the substance that gives distraction and short-term relief.

How can I change this habit?

Food may have featured in your life for many years as a comfort. Perceived in this way, food may temporarily help to reduce emotional pain or discomfort. However, the real emotions eventually manifest themselves in a variety of dysfunctional ways. Learning to cope with those feelings at the onset will help you to overcome your weight difficulties.

If a process of suppression of emotions begins in childhood, it's likely you could have grown up being completely out of touch with your feelings, thus an emptiness manifests that can spiral into an eating dysfunction. When you were sad, biscuits and milk may have been offered to you to 'feel better'. This learned pattern of using food to improve mood follows many of us into our adult lives.

If you are eating for comfort, the most important part of your weight loss journey is to:

• Identify and acknowledge that you are an emotional eater
• Recognise the emotions that cause you to eat
• Find out ways to express your emotions
• Avoid situations that cause you to feel bad.

A significant step in feeling management that often leads to eating management is learning to identify the feelings that you use food to deal with.

Some powerful feelings you might be eating to supress:

1. Anxiety
2. Anger/Rage
3. Sadness
4. Hurt
5. Disappointment
6. Loneliness
7. Self-hate
8. Deprivation
9. Emptiness
10. Guilt

Try finding other ways of expressing your emotions. Talk to a friend, family member or counsellor/therapist about the issue, or if there is another person involved, talk to the person that is causing you to feel bad if you're able to. Some of us don't want to feel as though we're burdening others with our problems, so writing your thoughts in a diary can help clear your mind and put it to rest. Simply write everything and anything you are thinking and feeling just before you are ready to indulge.

If your problem is something you're struggling to deal with alone, we really recommend speaking to your GP or a qualified healthcare professional and discuss your feelings with them. Help is available, and taking that first step to acknowledging that you need some support is your first important step towards building a healthier relationship with food.

National Centre for Eating Disorders.

MIND.

NHS Every Mind Matters.