Overcoming Emotional Eating
Emotional eating is a common challenge for many, but for women with ADHD, it can feel like a constant struggle. Whether you're reaching for chocolate after a stressful day, or mindlessly snacking when you're feeling bored or anxious, emotional eating can derail your journey to a healthier relationship with food. But there’s hope. By understanding how ADHD amplifies emotional eating, and taking small, mindful steps to pause and assess your feelings before reaching for food, you can begin to break the cycle and nurture a balanced, healthier approach to eating.
What is Emotional Eating?
Emotional eating occurs when food is used as a way to cope with emotions rather than to nourish the body. It's often triggered by feelings like stress, sadness, boredom, or anxiety. While it’s completely normal to turn to food for comfort from time to time, emotional eating becomes problematic when it becomes a go-to coping mechanism and leads to overeating or choosing foods that don’t support your health goals.
How ADHD Amplifies Emotional Eating
For women with ADHD, emotional eating can be even more pronounced due to emotional dysregulation. ADHD affects the brain's ability to manage emotions, which means you might experience mood swings, frustration, or overwhelm more intensely than others. This emotional volatility can make it harder to process and manage feelings, leading to impulsive eating behaviours.
In addition to emotional dysregulation, ADHD also heightens impulsivity and reward-seeking behaviours. When emotions run high, it can feel like the immediate gratification of food is the easiest way to soothe yourself. Unfortunately, this creates a pattern of using food as a way to escape uncomfortable feelings, which may lead to feelings of guilt or frustration afterward.
Steps to Pause and Identify Feelings Before Reaching for Food
If you find yourself turning to food when emotions are running high, it’s important to create space between the feeling and the action. This can be a challenge when you're feeling overwhelmed, but pausing for a moment can help you gain awareness and clarity before reaching for that snack.
Here are some steps to help you pause and identify your feelings:
Pause and Breathe – The first step is to pause before grabbing food. Take a deep breath or a few mindful breaths to slow down and ground yourself in the moment. Give yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling without judgement.
Check in with Your Emotions – Ask yourself, “What am I feeling right now?” Are you stressed, anxious, sad, or bored? Acknowledging your emotions can help you understand what’s driving the urge to eat. The key is not to suppress these feelings, but to recognise them and honour what your body is telling you.
Identify the Triggers – Sometimes, the urge to eat is more about a trigger than the emotion itself. Are you bored? Is there a specific stressor at work? Identifying the source of your emotional state can help you manage it more effectively.
Decide on Your Next Step – Once you’ve identified your feelings and any potential triggers, you can make a more mindful decision. Do you truly feel hungry, or are you reaching for food as a way to cope with emotions? If it’s emotional hunger, you may want to try a different way of managing your feelings before turning to food.
A Simple Self-Soothing Technique: Breathing Exercises or Journaling
Sometimes, the hardest part of emotional eating is finding a way to comfort yourself without food. Thankfully, there are simple techniques you can try to soothe yourself during these emotional moments. One of the most effective self-soothing methods is breathing exercises.
Breathing Exercise:
Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.
Close your eyes and take a slow, deep breath in through your nose for a count of four.
Hold the breath for a count of four.
Slowly exhale for a count of six, releasing tension as you breathe out.
Repeat this for several rounds, focusing on the sensation of your breath moving in and out.
This technique helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes calmness and reduces stress. It can be incredibly helpful when you're feeling overwhelmed or triggered by emotions.
Journaling:
Another powerful self-soothing tool is journaling. Writing down your feelings can help you process emotions and gain clarity. Here’s a simple journaling exercise to try:
Take a few minutes to write down what you’re feeling and why.
Write about any events or triggers that led to these emotions.
Explore alternative ways you could manage these feelings without turning to food.
Both breathing exercises and journaling can help you become more in tune with your emotions, providing healthier ways to cope without relying on food.
Wrapping It Up
Emotional eating is a common challenge for many women with ADHD, but by recognising how ADHD amplifies emotional dysregulation, you can begin to build healthier coping mechanisms. The key is to create space between your emotions and your eating choices, so you can make more mindful decisions.
Breathing exercises, journaling, and simply pausing to check in with yourself are all powerful tools that can help you regain control over emotional eating. With time, practice, and self-compassion, you can break the cycle of emotional eating and nurture a more balanced, fulfilling relationship with food
