Emotional eating is when people use food as a way to deal with feelings instead of to satisfy hunger. It is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness, and loneliness. Emotional eating can be triggered by major life events or the hassles of daily life that lead to negative emotions and disrupt weight-loss efforts. Some people eat less in the face of strong emotions, but if youre in emotional distress, you might turn to impulsive or binge eating, quickly consuming whatever's convenient without thinking about its nutritional value.
Emotional eating can affect weight, health, and overall well-being, especially when done a lot without realizing it. It can lead to cycles of binge eating and cause weight gain. Emotional eating is not an eating disorder on its own, but it can be a sign of disordered eating, which may lead to developing an eating disorder.
To manage emotional eating, it is important to identify personal triggers and find other ways to deal with the situations and feelings that make someone turn to food. For example, one can try to spend time doing things they are good at, eat slowly, and make themselves slow down to avoid eating mindlessly and losing track of how much they've taken in. Other ways to cope with negative emotions include exercise, meditation, deep breathing, or talking to a friend or therapist.
