Using food to enhance your emotional comfort or to punish yourself is becoming increasingly common. Why does this happen, and what can you do to change your behavior? For most people, food is something that is necessary solely to gain energy and strength. Emotions are usually not involved, and these people stop when their hunger is satisfied and do not feel the need or desire to overeat. For others, this is not the case at all. They eat when emotions arise to soothe, distract themselves, or punish themselves. What is behind compulsive overeating? Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be overweight or underweight to suffer from eating disorders, many people at a perfectly healthy weight constantly think about food Whether you avoid eating full meals and snack constantly throughout the day, fast or eat only diet foods and then overeat or try to diet, you are not alone. At some point in your life, food has taken on a power over you. causing you to change your attitude towards her. This may be due to problems in your childhood, preconceived notions of beauty, or other psychological factors. Food and Emotions For many people, eating certain foods is an event that releases feel-good hormones and makes you feel safe, comfortable, or cozy. If, for example, your grandmother gave you a bar of chocolate every time you went to visit her, it is likely that in moments of sadness or sadness you will eat chocolate to comfort yourself. The problem is that food is not designed to to comfort you. It is necessary to keep your body fit and healthy. The consequences of eating to cope with emotions often involve feelings of guilt or self-hatred, which can then make you want to eat even more. Instead of turning to food as a way to cope with your emotions, you need to find another way to cope with a situation that is less harmful, and change the way you think so you don't eat food that way. Some people also overeat as self-punishment. Thinking that they are not good enough, or being angry with themselves, provokes the desire to harm themselves by eating too much food. In these cases, food is often seen as the enemy - something to be hated. What to do The first thing to do is ask yourself: are you ready to change? People generally don't like change, and often it is emotional issues that can get in the way of change, even when you really want it. Try to identify hidden conflicts between what you really want and what you are currently doing. Understanding the root cause of your behavior is the first step to changing it. Keeping a food diary will also help you track your habits and can help you begin to change your thinking. Every time a trigger for emotional eating occurs, try to track the emotion and write down the cause and another possible way to satisfy that emotion in your food journal, over time these thoughts will begin to seep into your subconscious, reinforcing the changes and reinforcing the new behavior.