Eating Disorders

ating disorders include complusive overeating (eating excessively) or eating far too little (overly restrictive eating) or any other compulsion to eat in a manner that upsets or threatens physical health. Eating disorders that are continued over time may have severe consequences on a person's health, including death.

Emotional Eating and Eating Disorders

lthough emotional eating does not classify as a type of eating disorder, some physicians believe it is similar to many types of eating disorders because it represents an unhealthy relationship with food. Emotional eating refers to the act of using food to manage one's mood. Many of us eat out of emotion, not hunger, but some people are more vulnerable to emotional eating than others. If you are wondering if you might be an emotional eater, ask yourself these questions. Do you find yourself consistently eating when you're not truly hungry? Do you resort to "comfort food" when you are feeling sad, lonely, stressed out, or just bored? Do you think of food as a distraction or a way to escape your current problems? Do you have trouble differentiating between true hungers and just snacking? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have experienced emotional eating in the past. Other symptoms of emotional eaters are that they tend to obsess about the food they eat. They may rely on food to soothe themselves at stressful times, or use food as a reward. For most emotional eaters, food acts as their primary means of distraction or entertainment, taking on a significant role in their life.

If you think you may be an emotional eater, what can you do to cultivate a healthy relationship to food? First, understand that food is an important part of our lives, and it is not unhealthy to have a strong passion, interest, or desire to eat food. Food is a part of the most important moments of our lives: weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and other important celebrations all use food as an important part of the celebration. This is normal and healthy. However, food should not be used as a tool to soothe hurt feelings or compensate for something that is missing from our emotional lives.

Part of helping to stop the urge of emotional eating is learning to become a more mindful eater. Have you ever plowed through a bag of chips, yet still felt unsatisfied afterwards? How about gulping down a can of soda with barely getting a taste of it? Many emotional eaters eat without thought or consideration of what they are eating. As an emotional eater, you must learn new eating habits and skills to help you get past your emotional eating tendencies. One of these tools is keeping a food journal. Keeping a food journal is an easy way to become more mindful of what you eat and why. Simply buy a small notebook where you can write down everything you eat in the course of one day. Keep it somewhere handy where you will see it. On the kitchen counter, or posted on the refrigerator are both good locations. Simply write down everything you eat. If you can, write down the time and how you felt at the moment. This can help you locate any emotional eating patterns that you may have never noticed before. For instance, maybe you tend to snack after getting home from work, as a way to relieve stress. Keeping a food journal is an excellent way to locate such emotional eating patterns. Once you have charted these patterns, come up with strategies to keep you from emotional eating. Maybe you can take a walk right after work, or prepare a healthy snack that is right at your disposal.

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This Website is intended to provide assistance and information to people who are interested in learning more about eating disorders, who may be worried about the possible onset of eating disorders, or the friends, family, or relatives of those who might suffer from an eating disorder.

While the articles on this Website were written with great care, errors or omissions may occur. The information is provided "as-is", without any warranty whether expressed or implied. All readers agree to use the information provided on this site entirely at their own risk.

The information provided here is for educational purposes only and should not be used as a basis for any form of diagnosis or treatment for any medical condition whatsoever - including eating disorders.

If you suspect you or someone you know has an eating disorder, always seek the advice of a professional medical doctor.

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