Ralph loves fatty foods, doughnuts in particular. He finds himself consuming these by the droves in the mornings before he faces work. He tries repeatedly to stop this out-of-control overeating but he can’t do it despite the fact that his rapidly increasing size is threatening his job at which he must appear personable. It is only when he discovers a hidden connection between anger and his overeating that Ralph gets a grip on this habit – I will tell you how in a moment, but let’s look at that hidden connection first. What has anger got to do with overeating?

Surprising as it may seem, while anger won't raise the numbers on your scale directly, it can indirectly contribute to them in a big way because anger is one of the major causes of emotional overeating. If you find yourself reaching for your favorite comfort foods whenever someone makes you mad, your anger may be an indirect but important cause of your gaining pounds.

The reason for this is that food can be so soothing that it can allow you to avoid whatever negative emotions you may be feeling when the cravings strike. In fact, if you reach for the food fast enough, you probably don't even notice you're feeling anything unpleasant at all.

This is especially true for the emotion of anger. Society conditions us to keep our angry feelings under control but sometimes, this includes not feeling the anger at all. If you're like most people, you're not comfortable with anger. Food is an easy way to keep it at bay and avoid expressing it.

Of course, the problem is that your anger doesn't go anywhere when you eat unwisely as a way of handling it. You still feel the anger – it's just hidden from your awareness for a while by the temporary comfort of food. Meanwhile, the downside is that you become heavier, and the angry feelings remain dormant, ready to come up to the surface and bring about yet another food craving. It's a no-win continuous cycle.

Ralph is a perfect example. He feels completely unappreciated at work since his boss treats him like a scapegoat. Despite the fact that his sales figures surpass those of most of his coworkers, he watches others receive accolades while his work goes unnoticed. He continues to look for a more satisfying job, but he has yet to find one.

Ralph starts his day angry and ends it angry. The only way he can get past the anger and make it to work is by eating a few donuts for breakfast. When he gets home after another frustrating day, he goes straight for his favorite fatty comfort foods before he even makes dinner. Sometimes, he fills up so much on the fatty foods that he fails to eat anything nutritious at all.

It's certainly understandable why Ralph's situation would make him feel angry, but his coping mechanism is not helping. Instead, it undermines his health and causes him to put on pounds. This only adds to his frustration and his difficulty in finding another job.

While Ralph may not be able to immediately alter his situation at work, he can definitely change his own attitude. It isn't easy, but it's certainly preferable to allowing his anger to get the best of him. Ralph needs to acknowledge his anger and find a way to release it constructively. He could try martial arts or a punching bag until he finds a better job. If he keeps his focus on the positive steps he can take to change his circumstances, he will feel much better, and he won't have to drown his feelings with eating.

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