Eating Your Emotions

Understanding Emotional Eating

• Food and eating patterns are often brilliant coping mechanisms we developed when we didn't have better options available

• We can regulate our serotonin and dopamine levels through what we put in our bodies

• The body instinctively knows that certain foods like sugar can help dampen overwhelming emotions

• Emotional eating often happens when we're reacting to overwhelm and too many things going on

• What seems like a food issue is often a layer of emotions we're not wanting to look at

The Path to Freedom

• Emotional freedom means having more choices than just the default reactions

• We can move from whatever gets us through the night to actually clearing out what's underneath

• Being stuck in patterns doesn't mean we're broken - we found ways to cope with what was happening

• True change comes from addressing the root causes rather than just trying to control the symptoms

• We can shift from unconscious reactive eating to conscious choices about how we nourish ourselves

Awareness & Transformation

• Often there's no space between feeling an emotion and reaching for food - creating that gap is key

• Like fish in water, we can be so used to burying emotions that we don't even know they're there

• Healing happens in layers - clearing one level often reveals deeper work to be done

• The goal isn't perfect control but rather having more power over our responses

• Being kinder to our body starts with understanding why we developed these patterns

Empowering Perspectives

• None of this is about blame - it's amazing we had the capacity to get through what we did

• We can accept these patterns as part of being human while still choosing to evolve beyond them

• What served us in childhood may not serve us now as adults

• Small children are incredibly resourceful in finding ways to regulate their emotions

• Every coping mechanism we developed helped us survive something

Moving Forward

• We can learn to notice patterns before we're already in the middle of reactive eating

• It's possible to step out of long-standing patterns with new awareness and tools

• Healing happens in community, with others who understand

• We can honor our past coping mechanisms while developing new choices

• Change becomes possible when we approach ourselves with acceptance rather than judgment

Understanding Our Relationship with Food

• Food directly signals safety to our primitive brain - when we eat, we tell ourselves we are safe and there is enough

• We start life with powerful associations between food and mood change

• The more trauma we have, sometimes the more frequently we need food to constantly tell our brain we're safe

• Turning to food as children was actually a smart adaptation when we didn't have other resources

• Food changes our mood through influencing serotonin and dopamine levels

The Path from Reaction to Response

• Reaction is when there's no pause between input and output

• We can move from knee-jerk reactions to conscious choices about food

• Freedom comes from having multiple ways to respond rather than just one default reaction

• The goal isn't to never use food for comfort but to make it a conscious choice

• We can consciously choose to use food while ensuring we have other resources available

Building Emotional Capacity

• Start with being with an emotion for just 5-30 seconds to build resilience

• Like building physical strength, we can gradually increase our capacity to be with difficult emotions

• Success comes from pushing yourself a little while avoiding re-traumatization

• Celebrate small wins like pausing for even 5 seconds before eating

• Being present with emotions without trying to change them often allows them to move through quickly

Practical Tools for Change

• Take a slow deep breath and make a noise on the exhale - this signals safety to your primitive brain through the vagus nerve

• Ask yourself what else might be satisfying besides food

• Notice where you feel emotions in your body using basic physical descriptions

• Tap or hold acupressure points discretely under the table in social situations

• Give yourself permission to feel emotions for short periods before deciding what action to take

Empowering Perspectives

• We don't need to hate any foods or make them forbidden - we just want conscious choice

• Having more tools besides food gives us more freedom and choices in life

• Being an adult means having the capacity to be with emotions that were overwhelming as a child

• The path forward is about expanding possibilities rather than restricting options

• Freedom comes from having multiple ways to respond rather than just one default reaction

Self-Compassion and Growth

• Look back with gratitude at how we figured out ways to survive difficult times

• Acknowledge that we were doing the best we could with the resources we had

• Remember that reaction patterns served an important purpose in the past

• Be patient with the process of building new capacities

• Celebrate small steps toward more conscious choices rather than demanding perfection

Wisdom for the Journey

• Building emotional capacity is like building physical strength - it takes time and consistent practice

• We can be with uncomfortable emotions without being overwhelmed by them

• The goal isn't perfection but expanding our menu of possible responses

• Having only one tool limits our choices - developing multiple tools creates freedom

• We're not trying to eliminate food as a resource but to make it a conscious choice