When we experience difficult emotions, it`s natural to use things external to ourselves to help us cope. These outlets can be positive, like working out or writing, or destructive, like drinking and drug usage. For some sufferers, eating is the outlet they use when feeling out of control emotionally. Emotional eating is a way to suppress upsetting emotions for many sufferers.

For some folks, emotional eating just means eating a little ice cream after a hard day at work. For lots, however, this is a unhealthy habit that can lead to weight problems and health problems. Most comfort foods are high in calories, sugar, and sodium, which all can lead to health complications when consumed in massive quantities.

There are many things that can lead to emotional eating. Major life events, or even daily annoyances can send emotional eaters to the refrigerator. For others, eating can even be a way of relief from boredom. There is a chemical reason behind emotional eating as well. Many popular comfort foods release chemicals or hormones that improve your mood, so they are chemically as well as psychologically comforting.

Emotional eating is a hard habit to quit. However, there are several suggestions to help quit this dangerous tendency. It`s important to understand how to tell the difference between real hunger and an emotionally motivated urge to eat. If you know that you aren`t actually hungry, give it a few minutes to see if the urge fades. Emotional cravings differ(s) from physical cravings in several manners. It comes on quickly, while true hunger is gradual. Actual hunger is a universal sensation of emptiness, while emotional hunger will cause you to desire something specific. Emotional eating is also more likely to cause feelings of shame afterwards.

Don`t keep unhealthy foods in your home, because it`s much less difficult to fight those urges when inducement isn`t readily available. Try to swap unhealthy comfort foods with better for you alternatives. Make a inventory of activities you can do to amuse yourself when emotional eating hits, such as go for a walk, take a quick nap, or read a newspaper. Finally, using the help of a therapist to address the psychological reasons for emotional eating can be very useful.