Eating your birthday cake at your party, or the warm turkey at Christmas dinner can elicit positive emotions. However, in these situations we are emotionally happy while eating, but the emotions are not tied to the food, they are associated with the occasion.

Emotional eating can never be beneficial. In fact, it is quite dangerous.

If you are emotionally eating, you have developed an unhealthy response to emotions such as stress, anxiety and anger. You are placing yourself at risk of developing an addiction. It is a response you have accidentally learnt that can turn into a bad habit and a life-long struggle with food.

The only positive thing about emotional eating, which can be unhealthy if allowed to develop into a habit, is that people can use it as a warning sign. If suddenly you find yourself craving a chocolate, you can stop, reflect and think about why, in this moment, you are looking to self-soothe. Is there a situation making you uncomfortable or have you been avoiding dealing with something upsetting you? Is there a better way you can self-soothe at this moment? The positive benefit here is to grab the opportunity that your body is flagging something may be wrong, and practice healthy ways to deal with these moments.

Practising techniques like mindfulness and cognitive behaviour therapy can change the unhealthy thinking patterns people have, particularly when it comes to impulsive eating. These techniques need to be practiced in times of calm, so that when a moment of anxiety, stress or anger arises, the techniques can be called upon to stop impulsive eating.

I have seen clients who tell me they feel angry, annoyed, frustrated and even sad when they overeat.

In fact, one of the diagnostic criteria of binge eating is that you experience a negative urgency to eat – that is – you feel anxious, frustrated and have negative emotions. In order to control this ‘binge eating‘ people need to address the underlying factor of impulsivity.

As part of The Impulsivity Project, I have developed the ‘Beat the Binge’ online program, to help people to take control and manage their impulsivity, in the safe space of their home. The course is based on cognitive behaviour therapy and mindfulness strategies and can be accessed at https://impulsivity.com.au/curriculum/beat-the-binge-control-your-impulsive-binge-eating/

I recently presented the program to the National Eating Disorders and Obesity Conference in Tweed Heads.  You are welcome to get this program today and start your own journey to a healthier relationship with food.