Eating has become more than just breakfast, lunch and dinner. It has become a part of people’s personalities, more like a hobby and a lifestyle than an actual necessity. For instance, some people turn to ‘comfort’ foods when they feel sad or depressed. They turn to ice cream, chocolates, and other indulgences. Popcorn and soda have become a staple part of a movie experience regardless if you’ve just had dinner prior to going to the movie house. This eating routine is habitual and not physiologically required, or to put it in another way is a need of the mind, not of the body.

Attachment to food has become one of the many issues of health conscious people, especially of women. Emotional eating is getting a slice of cake after a full meal or indulging on a pint of your favorite vanilla ice cream when you feel down. It is not due to being physically hungry, but it takes care of unsettled emotions and deals with your ‘emotional hunger’. Although this habit can be compensated through proper diet and workout sessions during the ‘better’ days, binge emotional eating is rather unhealthy.

How do you know you’re an emotional eater?

Distinguishing physical hunger from emotional hunger can be pretty tricky. Thinking that you’re hungry can convince your body to eat although you are pretty full already.

Emotional eaters often eat when they feel stressed. They are not necessarily hungry but resort to eating to relieve the pressure at work or lessen the burden of family problems.

Food may also be regarded as a ‘reward’ for a successful work done or a week of continuous workout. ‘Cheat day’ is a common term used by health buffs that were on a consistent diet for weeks and then binge eats for a day to reward themselves.

Specific foods are often desired by emotional eaters. Sweets are a common choice. A sense of comfort is felt after eating chocolates and cake. Another common group of comfort foods are the fatty ones or the ones who are generally avoided when you’re on a diet. Pizza, pasta and burgers are common choices. There is a feeling of urgent need to eat these foods to feel good.

Unlike physical hunger which is satisfied by a full meal, emotional hunger often makes you want to eat more and more food until you are so stuffed that you don’t feel comfortable anymore.

How do I put a stop to it?

Emotional eating is related to stress and emotional patterns. One way to change is to know what triggers you. Is it a particular sad memory? Your boss? A family member? Whatever it is, identify it. This way, you would know the likely situations which may make you resort to eating and be able to try to avoid it.

Write what you eat. Keep a journal of your everyday diet and identify which of them are occasional foods and which are staple ones. Comparing your day to day eating habits can help you identify which foods to avoid and which to continue eating.

Find a way to release your stress in other ways. It has been proven that people who work out are generally more focused and happy. Exercise releases endorphins, the ‘happiness’ hormones which helps to relieve stress and anxiety. You can also try to call your closest friend and share your bad day. Misery loves company. Having someone listen to how you feel may be able to offer the comfort you need.

Emotional eating can be compared to smoking and other vices. It is a bad habit which can be quite addictive and difficult to stop. But through discipline and awareness, you are on your way to a healthier eating lifestyle.

Michael Winters is a Psychologist in Houston focusing on marriage counseling and therapy. Michael received his PhD from the University of Memphis and has been practicing since 1991.