Navigating Emotional Eating: Using a Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) Strategy to Retrain Your Brain’s Response To Emotional Triggers
Emotional eating is a learned behavior that many of us experience. It's true, eating can temporarily make us feel better. It's one of the main reasons we consciously or subconsciously crave certain foods when we feel stressed, sad, frustrated, angry, lonely, bored, etc. However, it's important to remember that this relief (or distraction) is temporary and it won't address the root cause of the emotion you are dealing with.
In the moment it might be comforting, but it often leads to a bigger challenge.
- The initial issue that triggered the emotion remains unchanged
- Feelings of regret from overeating or eating something that wasn’t planned
- Unplanned eating may lead to weight gain and negatively impact health factors like blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure
- Increased food tolerance linked to emotions: reliance on food for comfort leads to needing larger portions for the same emotional relief
You have the power to choose how you respond to your emotions.
It can feel difficult, and even sometimes uncomfortable, to change your response to your emotions, but with the right tools and practice you can learn a more helpful strategy. Our brain's responses to triggers are not static, with practice and time we can change the way we think!
How to break the cycle of eating as a response to emotion:
Step 1: Identify your trigger: Start by recognizing what you're feeling. Are you stressed, anxious, sad, or bored? Understanding your emotions can help you acknowledge what is going on and how you are feeling. The first step is recognizing the emotion and not jumping to numbing it or distracting ourselves through food - this recognition and pause is essential to move on to step 2.
Step 2. Challenge sabotaging thoughts: Next, we need to challenge the default thinking patterns that trigger the behaviour we want to alter and practice engaging in an alternative thinking pattern that aligns with our goals.
- Sabotaging thought "I need this snack to feel better" : Challenge this by telling yourself: "There are lots of things that I could do that could help me to feel better. Sure I would feel better for a short time, but in an hour I will regret this decision".
- Sabotaging thought “ I need to eat this to get through this feeling” :Consider acknowledging: “It’s ok to feel sad, I can learn to deal with this feeling in another way”
- Sabotaging thought “This is too hard, I can’t change this behavior. This is something I have always done and something I will always do!”: Try an analogy - “This is hard, but I have done hard things before. Learning to drive felt difficult at the start but now it feels like second nature. The more I practice this the easier it will get.”
Step 3. Develop Alternative Strategies: Once you've identified your emotions and thoughts, create a list of alternatives that resonate with you. See the examples of alternative strategies below:
- Tip 1: Try to match your strategy to your emotional state. If you’re feeling tense, opt for a physical activity. If you’re low on energy, choose something comforting and restful.
- Tip 2:As with any skill, once you have found helpful strategies, it will take practice and time for this to feel like your natural response.
Step 4. Experiment, gather data, and practice: Write down your 3 step plan on a card (see steps below to create your own unique plan) or in the notes on your phone. Then next time you have an emotion based craving read your card to see if this helps the craving to pass. Make notes of your findings - having evidence that proves you can manage emotions in a different way can help to build confidence and shape your new responses in the future!
Examples Of Alternative strategies
| Alternative distractions | Al ternative sources of comfort |
|---|---|
| Do a DIY project | Read a book |
| Declutter or organize a space | Call a friend or loved one |
| Take photos | Gentle yoga or stretching |
| Go for a walk | Have a cup of tea |
| Tackle a small job on your to-do list | Listen to music |
| Spend some time on a hobby | Self care |
| Play a game or puzzle | Take a relaxing bath |
Conclusion
Emotional eating is challenging. You can learn to respond to your emotions in ways that move you in the direction of your goals.. By understanding your triggers and implementing these alternative strategies, you can foster a healthier relationship with food and your emotions. Remember, it’s about progress, not perfection. Give yourself credit to reinforce each step in the process of behaviour change:
- Recognizing a sabotaging thought
- Reading your reminder card
- Trying an alternative distraction or source of comfort
- Extending the amount of time between having a craving and eating
Each time you practice using your reminder card you are effectively training your brain to think in a new way, building strength and resilience when navigating emotion based hunger.