How
do I know if I am an emotional or comfort eater?
Emotional or comfort eating is a term that we use for people who have over the years learnt to manage difficult or uncomfortable feelings, life events and trauma with food. Emotional eating usually stems from a person's childhood as it is a learnt behaviour. Perhaps as a child you were given food when you were upset or even given food as a reward, either way food becomes an automatic method of dealing with painful emotions you would rather not face. To understand if this applies to you we recommend you keep a food diary for a week and note down how you are feeling and thinking when you want to eat. This in term will help you identify your triggers and eventually change your behaviour.
Answers provided by Janet Biglari
and Sevim Mustafa, Streamline Surgical psychotherapists
