Emotional Eating

There are several types of eating disorders.  This section of the website deals with emotional eating and with binge eating.

Emotional eating involves the consumption of large quantities of food in response to psychological feelings rather than to a response of physical hunger.  It is estimated that approximately 75% of overeating is caused by emotions and not by hunger or physical need.

If you have an eating problem you either overeat or have an unhealthy reduction in the amount of food you eat (called Anorexia Nervosa) and you feel bad about your unhealthy eating habits, your body shape, weight, or all three.

What you eat, how you eat, as well as why you eat, are affected by many factors including your family and upbringing, your friends and culture, health issues, personality factors, and biological heritage. 

Eating problems are typically formed during our childhood and teenage years when we often learn that food and eating brings comfort to us when we are upset.  As a result, instead of learning healthy ways to resolve and deal with feelings, many people learn to turn to food for emotional comfort to help reduce negative feelings.  While eating problems may have been formed early, many people do not evidence these problems until adulthood when an eating problem shows up.  Frequently these eating problems are combined with other mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety and alcohol or drug abuse problems.

Identifying what triggers you to eat in an unhealthy way is an important element in treatment.  Typically the triggers fit into on of the following groups:

physiological eating which takes place in response to hunger, a headache, or other hunger cues;

social eating where we eat to be social and to be with others;

situational eating where we eat because the opportunity and the food is there right before us.  Situational eating can also occur because we have learned to associate eating with certain activities such as watching a sporting event; and

emotional eating where we eat as a result of emotions such as anxiety, stress, fatigue, anger, boredom, depression, loneliness, feeling empty, worthless or lacking self-confidence.

Binge eating is a common type of emotional eating problem.  If you are a binge eater, you have repeated periods of out-of-control eating where you will consume a large amount of food in a short period of time.  In these situations you are not able to control the amount of food you consume and you will continue to eat long after you are "full". 

Binge-eating is often associated with feelings of self-loathing and shame and the binge eater develops a vicious cycle of feeling self-disgust and shame, which leads to binge eating, which in turn leads to more shame and self-disgust, and the cycle continues.  If you engage in purging, vomiting, or laxatives to get rid of the food ingested, your binge eating has crossed over to an eating problem called Bulimia Nervosa.

Of the several types of eating disorders, binge eating is the most common.  It is estimated that up to 4 million U.S. citizens have a binge eating problem.  Most people with a problem of binge eating are overweight.  

There is no one cause of binge eating problems.  Binge eating is a complex problem that involves upbringing, social and cultural issues, brain and body chemistry, learning theory, and each person's individual personality.  We do know that binge eating problems are more prevalent in women than in men and that approximately 50% of persons with a binge eating problem suffer from, or have suffered from, depression.

Typically a person with a binge eating problem is very upset by their binge eating.  They may eat to avoid negative feelings but as a result of binge eating they become more anxious or depressed which in turn leads to more binge eating. It is common for a binge eater to feel bad about themselves, feel ashamed and try to hide their problem, and they may miss work, school, social  or other activities due to binge eating.

It is common for a person who has emotional eating or binge eating problems to first try to overcome their eating problem on their own.  However, most such efforts, while meeting with temporary success, fail in the long run and the sufferer needs to seek professional help to deal effectively with the eating problem.

In seeking professional help, the treatment of emotional eating and binge eating typically involves several components including not only psychological intervention, but also nutritional intervention and sometimes medical assistance. The good news is that treatment is typically successful.

As with other types of problems, the first issue is for the person to recognize and accept that they have a problem.  This is an especially difficult issue for a person with an eating disorder since the person often does not recognize or will not admit that they have a problem.

I have found that there are several different ways to treat emotional eating and binge eating.  Identifying eating triggers is an early step in the process, but identifying triggers alone is not sufficient to alter eating behavior. Not only do you need to avoid triggers, but you must unlearn existing behavior patterns and learn new ones. 

Cognitive therapy and reality therapy can help teach you how to keep track of your eating and change your unhealthy thinking and eating habits. Traditional psychotherapy, which helps look at relationships with friends and family, is also helpful. Additionally, an exercise program is usually extremely valuable and medication, such as an antidepressant, can be helpful.

For more information about emotional eating and binge eating, please visit the websites listed below and the glossary that follows.

"If you really want help dealing with your feelings and emotions, changing your behavior, and improving your life, I will be happy to help you.  I am available almost any time and any place.  You can call me directly and there is no cost or obligation for the initial telephone consultation.  Or you can reach me by email.  I look forward to the possibility of helping you to improve your life."   Dr. Vince Berger