Are you eating because you’re hungry or stressed? Emotional eating is a common coping mechanism that people often employ subconsciously to address underlying emotions like stress, anxiety, anger or sadness.
Getting an occasional “pick-me-up treat” between meals isn’t always cause to ring the alarm bells. But consistent, habitual snacking or overeating – especially with sweet and salty foods – can sometimes be a sign of emotional eating, which can cause an unhealthy relationship with food and get in the way of wellness goals.
Emotional eating is treatable! But first, you’ve got to identify it correctly.
5 Signs Emotional Eating Is Being Used as an Unhealthy Coping Mechanism
Craving Specific Foods – Stress triggers the production of cortisol (a hormone essential to the flight-or-fight response). Cortisol actually kicks up cravings for sugary and salty foods. And while this may have been practical in prehistoric times, when the body needed to stock up on calories to survive famine and fight off predators, cortisol is what steers us toward less-healthy choices in the modern era, like cupcakes, pop and potato chips.
Hiding Eating Habits out of Shame or Embarrassment – Big red flag. This is a clear sign that you know your eating habits aren’t aligned with the outward wellness goals you may have shared with others.
Sudden Need to Snack – Hunger tends to well up inside the body gradually, sending small cues over time, like a grumbling tummy or dull headache. A sudden, urgent need to eat is often a sign that there’s deeper emotional significance being associated with snacking, often in response to triggers like stress or anger.
Eating to the Point of Feeling Sick – Feeling stuffed or actually sick to your stomach after eating is a sign you may have overindulged, which means you’re not listening to the body’s cues when it’s feeling full.
Still Unsatisfied, Even After Eating – Food cannot fix emotional problems that are being avoided, no matter how much snack time is used as a coping mechanism. If anger, sadness, stress or boredom are driving emotional eating, these feelings are likely to linger long after you’ve downed a bag of chips or two.
How to Manage Emotional Eating
- Mindful Eating – Check in with yourself before scarfing down food. Also, it’s helpful to eliminate distractions while eating. Instead of streaming shows or working on a laptop, turn off devices and dedicate your attention to mealtime.
- Meal Planning – Stock the pantry with a variety of fresh ingredients to make it easier to whip up healthy meals rich in protein and vitamin D – good mood boosters that keep you feeling full.
- Healthy Snacks – Grapes, raisins and baby carrots are healthy snack options. If you need help slowing down and keeping your hands busy to curb overeating, try unshelled pistachios or mandarin oranges which both require a bit of extra effort and patience.
Get to the Root Cause – and Treat It!
Anger, stress, sadness, boredom, anxiety – these are the most common emotions that drive emotional eating. And while there’s a lot of science that backs the link between food and mood, most people who use emotional eating as a coping mechanism will need to address underlying triggers causing their distress to achieve meaningful recovery.
