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Recognising and understanding emotional eating
Eating out of stress, boredom or frustration is human. How to tell it apart from real hunger, and what can help.
Hunger or something else?
Physical hunger builds slowly, can be satisfied with lots of different foods and stops when you're full. Emotional hunger comes on suddenly, wants something specific and often carries on even after you've eaten.
Typical triggers
- Stress at work or at home
- Boredom in the evening in front of the TV
- Tiredness after a long day
- A reward after a demanding situation
What can help
- Pause for a moment: before you eat, ask yourself: am I hungry, or do I need something else right now?
- Have an alternative ready: a short walk, a phone call, a cup of tea.
- Eat without guilt: if you decide to eat, do it mindfully and without beating yourself up.
Worth knowing
Occasional emotional eating is normal. But if eating regularly gets out of control or weighs heavily on you, that belongs in the hands of a professional. I talk about this openly in the initial consultation.
My tip
Keep a short notebook for a week: what did you eat, and how were you feeling beforehand? Patterns quickly become visible.
