Over the course of the last 10 years, I have discussed this topic with the brave souls who work with me towards their freedom from food and weight worries. It goes something like this,” You know Tracy, I emotionally ate this week, a lot” and hence comes their shame.
One, it’s painful to see how we judge ourselves for a behavior that maybe we are doing, because long ago, we had not other holding or resources to know how to surf intense emotion. Secondly, we eat for many reasons, and even intuitive eaters eat for boredom or to have fun, so emotional eating is a PART of the human eating experience.
With all that said, most of the time, when we feel like we are emotionally eating, we actually need to explore more deeply to see if that is entirely true. It could be a combination of factors for which some problem solving and a few more tools could easily transform.
In this video, we talk about what may be happening, something called Deprivation Driven Eating.
I hope you enjoy this video; knowing the difference between Emotional eating and Deprivation Driven eating is a shame and judgement reducer!
With my faith that you can be free,
Tracy
THANK YOU FOR THIS. I try to explain this to so many others and it’s so helpful to have another voice summarizing the differences, and that MANY times we aren’t actually emotionally eating. Wish I could have seen/watched something like this earlier in my eating disorder recovery, but thanks for posting it now 🙂
Hi Rachel
Yes, there is so much nuance in the eating experience. I am glad this post has helped you not feel alone (we never are but don’t always know it). Thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience. Much care, Tracy