Emotional Eating = Obesity = Diabetes

By Anne Dranitsaris, Ph.D.

In our country, obesity is epidemic and although we know that it can lead to diabetes, heart disease and other major illnesses, it is not enough for people to change their unhealthy eating behaviours and habits.  Clearly obesity is not a rational or cognitive issue, it is an emotional one. We tend to eat what we feel like, rather than give our body what it needs to nurture it. 

Currently, the treatment for obesity focuses on educating people about what and how they should be eating. Although this approach appeals to the rational brain, it only serves to increase people's guilt about their lack of compliance to what they know they "should" be eating. This then leads to more emotional eating.

In addition to the emotional toil of guilt, remorse and feeling out of control, emotional eating has very real consequences. Overeating results in high blood glucose that can damage the blood vessels and nerves over time. It results in excess weight that may contribute to insulin resistance, and ultimately may require medication to control blood sugars. Obesity is the cause of many health problems involving the heart, blood pressure and joints.

Emotional eating is a complex problem involving the physiology and the psychology of the individual. Offering advice such as keeping a journal or recognizing your triggers can build self-awareness, but it trivializes the problem.  Most emotional eaters are diet and exercise experts and know what they need to do.  Such advice does not address the emotional issues that underlie the attachment to food.

Many people turn to food for comfort when facing a difficult problem, alleviating boredom and stress, or suppressing or soothing difficult emotions, such as anger, anxiety, sadness, helplessness and loneliness.  Major life events - such as unemployment, health problems and divorce or daily issues such as a negative work environment, relationship conflict or disappointments in school or work, can trigger emotions that lead to eating too much food, especially high-calorie, sweet, salty and fatty foods. 

Food can also be used to distract us from things that we are worried about or feel conflicted by. For example, if you are worried about a presentation you have to make or thinking about an unresolved conflict, eating comfort foods may distract you. Unfortunately, the distraction is only temporary and when you are finished, you resume the patterns of thinking than led to eating with the additional guilt about how much you have eaten. 

Emotional eaters keep their compulsive eating a secret from others although it can take place in a variety of circumstances.  Some people eat when they are home alone or get up in the middle of the night to eat. Others eat in cars, hiding food under the seat to be eaten when in transit. Some binge going home from work or even when left in the kitchen cleaning up after a meal. The compulsion to eat is intense and the need to perform the behaviour so compelling that if they are not able to do it they experience both real physical and emotional pain.

How to Stop Emotional Eating

There is no easy answer. How does one begin to understand and change such a complex disorder? Changing disordered eating requires that we look at many aspects of our personality, including the conditioning of our childhood, our relationships with our parents, family members, siblings, teachers, friends and whoever influenced the development of our belief system. For example, the failure to form a secure bond or attachment to our mother or primary caretaker, we are more likely to attach to food or other behaviours that help us regulate our mood and self-esteem. Not getting the nurturing we need as children predisposes us to not attend to our needs as adults.  We grow up unaware or unable to manage our impulses that cause us to rely on food to cope with daily life. 

For the emotional eater, the idea of changing eating habits can be very frightening and even simple changes are met with unconscious or conscious resistance. The rationalizations and emotional states enlisted to protect the self from detaching from dependence on food is remarkable. The attachment to food and the recurring thought patterns about food and the body are not something that are easily given up, as the emotional emptiness experienced is overwhelming. It is extremely difficult to do without professional help. 

Emotional eating leads to obesity leads to diabetes. If you, or someone you know is an emotional eater, there is help.  Contact our office for more information.

Anne Dranitsaris, PhD., is a clinical psychotherapist, corporate therapist, and behavioural change consultant in private practice in Ajax, Ontario. She has more than 25 years experience working with individuals, couples and groups for the treatment of Addiction, Depression and Anxiety, Stress and Anger Management, and Relationship and Family Conflicts.  

A frequently published writer and speaker on a broad range of topics on behaviour, Emotional Intelligence and personality styles and their impact in the workplace, Dr. Dranitsaris works with leaders and teams in organizations to help develop Emotional Intelligence, behavioural competence, and relationship skills. She also provides business relationship coaching and counselling for individuals who are experiencing difficulties with their business because of conflict in primary business relationships (partners, leadership groups, boards, etc.). She can be reached at 905.428.1404 or adranitsaris@mindfultherapies.com.