Is food your go-to when you’re stressed, bored, or overwhelmed? Do you find yourself eating on autopilot—and feeling guilty afterward? Emotional eating is often a response to feelings we don’t know how to process. In this blog, you’ll learn how to recognize the signs of emotional eating, understand your emotional triggers, and check in with signs of hunger and fullness that are present in your body.
Understanding Emotional Eating
Emotional eating involves using food to manage feelings rather than to satisfy physical hunger. Patterns of emotional eating occur to help numb or distract from difficult emotions, or to provide a source of comfort, reward, or escape. If you're struggling with emotional eating, you may notice that your eating patterns are driven by emotional triggers like stress, excitement, boredom, or loneliness rather than hunger or fullness.
Unlike eating disorders that center on weight and body image, emotional eating is more about how we use food to regulate our internal emotional world. When it comes to emotional eating, the problem isn’t the food itself but rather that food is becoming the way you’re regulating your emotions. Left unaddressed, emotional eating can spiral into long-term disordered patterns that impact your mental and physical health.
Signs and Symptoms of Emotional Eating
Are you experiencing symptoms of emotional eating? Consider reaching out to a qualified therapist for support if the following symptoms feel familiar to you.
- You feel out of control around food, especially during emotional moments
- You use food as a reward or a way to “treat yourself” after a hard day
- You often turn to food for comfort, stress relief, or to numb feelings of anxiety, sadness, or boredom
- Your eating habits are often following by guilt, regret, or self-criticism
- Your eating habits are having a negative impact on your self-esteem, body image, or relationships
- You have a hard time identifying or listening to your hunger and fullness cues
- You often eat quickly or mindlessly, without really tasting your food
A Check-In For Patterns of Emotional Eating
Emotional eating often happens automatically. Before you even realize it, you’re in the pantry or finishing the last bite of something you weren’t really hungry for. Use the following check-in to slow down and identify what your body really needs in the moment.
- What am I feeling right now?
(Stressed? Lonely? Tired? Bored? Anxious? Happy?)
Name the emotion—even if it’s uncomfortable.
- Am I physically hungry, or emotionally triggered?
Tune into your body. Is your stomach growling? Do you feel lightheaded or low energy? Or are you feeling unsettled and seeking comfort?
- What do I really need in this moment?
A nap? A break from screens? A hug? A walk? Water? A moment to cry?
Food might not be the thing—your feelings might be asking for something else entirely.
THERAPY FOR EMOTIONAL EATING IN CHANDLER, ARIZONA
How does therapy help break cycles of emotional eating?
Emotional eating is often rooted in emotional, psychological, or social struggles that go beyond food itself. Therapy helps uncover the underlying factors contributing to emotional eating behaviors and learn healthier ways to manage emotions without resorting to food.
In therapy for emotional eating, you'll learn to identify patterns—such as stress, loneliness, boredom, or unresolved trauma—that contribute to your eating behaviors. A qualified therapist can help you build awareness around these triggers and develop healthier coping strategies, such as mindfulness, emotional regulation skills, and alternative self-soothing techniques. Over time, therapy fosters greater self-compassion, emotional resilience, and the ability to respond to difficult feelings without turning to food for relief.
FIND AN EMOTIONAL EATING THERAPIST NEAR YOU!
Meet our experienced therapists.
Looking for a therapist who specializes in treating emotional eating? At Embodied Empowerment, our goal is to help you create lasting, positive change to move away from cycles of emotional eating behaviors and toward a life of balance, health, and well-being.
DANIELLE MAFFETONE, LPC
Danielle helps her clients discover the "why" behind emotional eating and gives them powerful tools to create lasting change.
Danielle has over 25 years of experience in mental health, working in a wide variety of treatment settings including both intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization levels of eating disorder treatment centers. She specializes in using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Strength-Based Approaches, and Solution-Focused Therapy to support her clients in overcoming struggles with anxiety, disordered eating, life transitions and changes, self-esteem, and relationship difficulties.
Danielle works collaboratively with her clients to help them challenge negative thought patterns, build on their inherent strengths, and creating practical strategies to achieve their goals. She provides therapy that is LGBTQ+ affirming and aligned with principles of Health At Every Size (HAES).
JESSICA BYRD, LCSW
Jessica believes her clients are most empowered when they have access to the wisdom of their bodies.
Jessica began her clinical career as a therapist at McCallum Place Eating Disorder Treatment Center where she worked in intensive outpatient through residential levels of care. In her current practice, Jessica enjoys helping her clients create a healthier relationship with eating and become more attuned to the needs of their bodies. Her clients often experience body image or eating related concerns after experiences with trauma, pregnancy, hormonal changes, difficult relationships, or difficult transitions.
Jessica helps her clients restore a sense of safety and trust in their bodies through trauma-informed approaches like Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, EMDR, and somatic (body-based) awareness.
