Emotional eating is not necessarily regarded as an eating disorder, but it can easily lead to one. That’s why those who need to do it have to monitor it. It can evolve to the point where you eat every time you have certain feelings, and that’s not healthy.
You might ask yourself why am I always hungry, and the answer isn’t always that it’s mealtime. It could also be that you’re feeling a particular way, and you have conditioned yourself to eat when that happens.
It’s worth talking about the causes of emotional eating. They’re not always the same for everyone, but often, some of the same ones act as triggers.
Work-Related Stress
There are all kinds of things that might be the cause of stress in your life. It’s the rare human existence that is entirely stress-free.
That being said, if you were to ask several people what is a source of stress in their lives, you would probably hear their job being mentioned again and again. Your professional life is crucial because it’s your method of bringing income into the house. That means you have pressure on you to do well at work.
Work-related stress can cause you to eat. If your boss yells at you or a coworker speaks to you in a passive-aggressive manner, that might trigger a binge-eating episode when you get home that night.
Family-Related Stress
Many individuals also speak about their families as being sources of stress for them. You might have an overbearing parent or one who has borderline personality disorder. You may have siblings who you don’t get along with, or perhaps you’re disagreeing with a spouse or partner frequently.
It’s easy to see how this kind of situation can lead to you doing things like emotional eating. Until you find better ways to control family-related feelings of stress, these habits will likely continue.
Money-Related Stress
Money is another thing that can cause stress in your life. You may have bills piling up. Perhaps you’ve noticed that the cost of groceries or gas for your car keeps rising due to inflation. You may not feel like you have enough money for retirement or even enough for a modest emergency fund if anything unexpected comes up.
If you feel like you don’t have enough money or a viable way to earn it, you might turn to food. Emotional eating may be due to ongoing financial stress.
What Can You Do About Emotional Eating?
Emotional eating is relatively common. Some people never bother to do anything about it. However, if it continues unabated for years on end, such individuals can end up overweight or obese.
Speaking to a mental health professional is usually the best way forward if you’re having trouble with emotional eating. You can sometimes break the habit on your own, but it can be pretty tough without a support network. Talking to someone about your triggers and identifying them can go a long way toward ridding yourself of this affliction.
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