People who turn to food for comfort and eat to suppress negative feeling are engaging in emotional eating. You eat to cope with feelings of anger, boredom, sadness, loneliness, fear and stress. The problem is, that this technique usually backfires; you feel worse after binging on food and then you eat more. Emotional eating is a perpetual cycle, but there are treatments out there for those who are suffering.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
The use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat emotional eating has demonstrated success. The Mayo Clinic reports that, with this therapeutic technique you will learn to recognize the triggers that make you begin eating. CBT will focus on the dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors that relate to your emotional eating, reports Help Guide. Also, you will be challenged to increase your self-awareness by gaining an understanding of the emotions involved in your eating patterns. Many therapists will employ the use of a food journal through which you will begin to understand the connections between your emotional needs and food.
Interpersonal Psychotherapy
In interpersonal therapy the treatment focus is on relationships. Engagement in this form of therapy will allow you spend time addressing the relationships in your life or lack thereof. Advancing your communication skills and developing healthier relationships, is key, according to Help Guide. As you make improvements in your relationships, you will begin to feel an increase in other forms of support and activity, making food less important.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
According to the Mayo Clinic, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) will enable you to stop using food to satisfy your emotional needs. It will give you the skills to tolerate stress and manage your emotions. Also, a focus of DBT is to give you the necessary abilities to make improvements in your relationships. If you choose DBT as your treatment, make sure you are working with a therapist who has training and experience in this technique because this is a very specific therapy.
Medications
Currently, the medications used to treat emotional eating do not treat the emotional eating specifically, but instead focus on the symptoms. The Mayo Clinic reports that antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants, have shown positive impacts on emotional eating possibly because they affect the chemicals associated with mood. The anticonvulsant drug, topamax, has also been shown to reduce the desire to eat large amounts, but it comes with potential serious side effects that should be taken into consideration. Another possibility is meridian, an anti-obesity medication that suppresses hunger, but it also comes with significant side effects, reports the Mayo Clinic. If you feel medication is an option, you must consult your doctor. Also, adding medication to a therapeutic treatment tends to result in more positive effects than using medication alone.
Get Support
Another option for treatment is joining an emotional-eating support group. These groups offer supportive and compassionate environments where others truly understand what you are going through.
