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Emotional eating is an eating disorder which affects primarily women, causing an increase in eating behavior in response to strong emotions. Emotional eating can become not only a debilitating health condition but it can wreak havoc with your social relationships as well.
For obvious reasons, emotional eating as well as overeating will most certainly play a part in potential weight gain. Individuals that have emotional eating problems, such as eating when bored or stressed will not learn how to deal properly with their inner conflicts. If eating becomes a vice in order to deal with your emotions, the potential of becoming seriously overweight will more than triple.
Not being able to express your emotions through your words can drive a wedge in between you and your relationships. People who respond to emotional situations by eating will often choose this comfort over attempting to solve their problems. So, instead of being able to work through differences of opinion with your spouse or family, you find yourself headed towards the kitchen for something to eat totally neglecting the actual problem at hand. Then, as time goes on, these issues will escalate and become the elephant in the room while your communication skills become problematic. Eventually, your relationships will simply become worse and worse, all while you keep eating.
You may also overeat or emotionally eat due to the feelings of frustration of not being able to meet your goals - either physically or mentally. Feelings of being 'stuck' and not being appreciated are all too common and can seriously impinge on your ability to be happy. Instead, you may turn to food for your sense of contentment and fulfillment.
Emotional eating can make it difficult to have positive self-esteem or any self-esteem to speak of. Many people who suffer with emotional eating or overeating disorders often have a very negative image of themselves which will only continue the cycle.
Breaking out of emotional eating habits requires you to firstly acknowledge that you have a problem. When you can admit this to yourself, you will be on the road to recovery. Remember, eating healthy and nutritious foods is the ultimate goal - not trying to look model-thin or emulating an unhealthy ideal.
