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Hi, my name is Dan and I am an emotional eater.

I don't like it when I'm stressed so I used to reach for food to numb the feeling.

I didn't like feeling uncomfortable at social events so I would drink alcohol to release my inhibitions. I would also do this when I came home from a long day at work.

I know these are my tendencies and that is why I've been able to overcome them.

Emotional eating is a learned habit. It could be you saw your parents drinking wine at the end of a long day. Or maybe they would give you an ice cream to stop you from crying.

Now I'm no therapist but I do know that numbing emotion with food, drugs or alcohol leads to a "vicious" cycle.

Step 1 - You feel an emotion.
Step 2 - You numb it with food or alcohol.
Step 3 - You feel ashamed.
Repeat.

What you're trying to do is change your state but using unhealthy ways to do so.

It's short-term gain for long-term pain because you're not solving anything. It will always come back.

But there is a way through this.

Here's a step-by-step process to stop emotional eating in its tracks.

Change won't happen overnight but with consistent effort and an attitude of never quitting amazing things can happen.

Step 1 - Find The Root

Find out where this emotion came from and why you use food or alcohol to numb it.

You may have to reach far back for this one.

Can you find the time in your life when you started to avoid emotions using ice cream? The first step is finding out where it came from.

Step 2 - Feel It Fully

Emotion is energy that needs to pass through your body. Feel where it's coming from.

Find what part of your body does it reside in. Then sit with it and feel it out. Let it pass through without you fighting it.

This is a skill called "letting go". You're able to fully let go when your body processes the emotion.

Keep in mind that this could take 1 to 5 minutes. Use breathing through the nose to manage your energy around this.

Step 3 - Define The Emotion

Be curious and ask what is the emotion you're feeling and why are you feeling it. A journal works best in this step.

You only need to do this a couple of times so the next time this happens you'll know why it's happening.


Step 4 - Create Your Game Plan

If emotion is energy and all we want to do is change our state...

What are some healthy ways you can do this?

I split this up between proactive and reactive.

Being proactive means getting the right sleep, exercise, and nutrition so you're better equipped to deal with emotions.

Being reactive means finding a healthier activity that'll replace emotional eating.

It could be dancing, walking outside, shadow boxing, or bodyweight exercises.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with a psychologist:

When his clients felt anxious he had them do bodyweight squats to failure before helping them.

Most times they stopped feeling anxious or were better equipped to deal with it.

It won't happen overnight but done enough times you'll be able to deal with your emotions in healthier ways.

It's what we call the "virtuous" cycle:

Where your actions lead to better long-term consequences and you're willing to trade short-term pain for long-term gain.

Yes, you'll fall at times. You'll fail a lot. The key thing is to never give up. To keep fighting.

You can overcome this. I've got faith in you.

Now you have 4 solid steps to make it happen.

- Dan


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