Re: Emotional Eating - reduce anxiety and calming effect

[Guest guest]

Hi Jen. I also eat mainly to control feelings of anxiety. And it's usually

carbs/sugar too! They really do make you feel instantly better, which I guess is

why it's such a hard habit to break.

I think what someone else wrote about nurturing was right. Making sure that

outside of the anxious times you are being kind to yourself and making sure you

get enough sleep etc (I know I'm very bad at this). When you're anxious I know

it's so hard because you get that kind of lightheaded spiralling freak-out

feeling where everything is just whirling out of control and you just grab food

to make it go away. What I've been trying to do is find something else that's

quickly comforting so that I can turn to that instead. (Like say when you give

up smoking and chew on drinking straws!) I've been drinking a lot more herbal or

fruit tea. Because it's warm and sweet and feels nourishing too. And I've been

using hot water bottles/heating pads too because they feel comforting to me.

Just clutching one to my stomach or sitting with one on my lap. Crying can

sometimes help, to get the emotions out. I guess you have to find out what works

for you. You could try starting a list? Anyway I don't think there's anything

wrong with finding another behaviour to replace the food, as long as that

behaviour doesn't become an addiction too!

Personally I wouldn't go down the 'eat something " healthy " instead' route, as

that just seems like diet thinking to me. Also it's kind of counterintuitive in

terms of IE thinking because you're presumably not hungry at these times, you're

anxious. So to eat anything - " healthy " or not - would be to replace feelings

with food. Which is what we're all trying to escape! I know how hugely hard it

is though... wish I was better at taking my own advice

Nicky