There are many reasons people turn to emotional eating as a coping mechanism. For example, if you're feeling unhappy and don't know how to handle your emotions, you may start overeating to distract yourself from your feelings. However it is complex and goes well beyond being just a distraction, but we'll come back to this.

1. How to Stop Emotional Eating
Do you tend to eat to feel better? If yes, then you are a binge eater or an
emotional eater - but don't worry, you can learn to manage it, heres how.

2. There are many reasons people turn to emotional eating as a
coping mechanism. For example, if you're feeling unhappy
and don't know how to handle your emotions, you may start
overeating to distract yourself from your feelings. However it
is complex and goes well beyond being just a distraction, but
we'll come back to this.
Emotional Eating is OK, in the sense that everyone does it to a
point, but it is not a solution for life's difficulties since it only
works temporarily. Worse, it causes longer-term distress if it
brings about weight gain.
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In this opening section, we'll explore the causes and effects
of emotional eating, as well as how to break the cycle.
Awareness is half the battle, and since you are reading this,
you are already on the path to creating new, better coping
mechanisms. But first ………
What's the Difference
Between Binge Eating and
Emotional Eating?
The term emotion is used in relation to both Binge Eating and
Emotional Eating; the primary difference between the two is
the amount of food consumed. An emotional eater could
consume more food when eating emotionally, but it's not the
same as a binge eating disorder. The term binge highlights

3. an increased severity, amount, and, consequently,
discomfort. Binge eating disorder (BED) is an recognised
disorder and has an officialdiagnosis.
Are you an emotional eater?
 Do you eat more when you’re feeling stressed?
 Do you eat when you’re not hungry or when you’re full?
 Do you eat to feel better (to calm and soothe yourself
when you’re sad, mad, bored, anxious, etc.)?
 Do you reward yourself with food?
 Do you regularly eat until you’ve stuffed yourself?
 Does food make you feel safe? Do you feel like food is a
friend?
 Do you feel powerless or out of control around food?
Is Binge Eating Nature or
Nurture?
The short answer is it’s both. The long answer is that it’s
complex; it includes environmental, genetic, and neurological
aspects. Impairments in:
 Reward Processing
 Inhibitory control
 Emotion Regulation
These neurological factors can result in problematic binge
eating behaviours, those typically associated with BED (Binge

4. Eating Disorder). This is why psychotherapy is still the
primary treatment.
Environmental Factors
Emotional eating tends to have roots in emotional disorders
such as persistent depressive disorder, generalised anxiety
disorder, and social anxiety disorder among others. It is thought
to arise from numerous factors rather than a single cause.
Comfort-type foods and drinks that tend to be fatty, sugary, or
salty are considered environmental factors, because they are
always readily available. We consume them because they
are pleasurable to eat, they alter how we feel, or in other
words they are mood enhancers. They trigger the release of
hormones such as serotonin (chocolate) or dopamine into the
blood thereby elevating mood and activating the brain’s
reward system while reducing tension and anxiety.Read
more..