Eating Disorders

We have all heard the term emotional eating but what does it actually mean?

Emotional eating is a term used when your intake of food is affected by your emotions in some way. It might be that you eat more food than you need to quell hunger or that there are certain foods that you feel comforted by when you eat them. If it only happens occasionally then there isn’t really a problem, but when it starts to becomes a go-to way to soothe emotions and that is when it becomes a struggle.

Emotional eating could occur you need comfort after a stressful day with a demanding boss or arguing children and there isn’t anyone you think can give you the support you need right then. It is also a way to push down fears or anger. It is a convenient distraction and occupies us so we don’t need to actively deal with the difficulties we face.

Emotional eating is usually rushed and involves way too much food than our body needs. It is used to help us self soothe and this would be fine if doing that didn’t have negative consequences, such as not really sorting out the underlying problem, weight gain or feelings of shame and guilt about the uncontrollable nature of that type of bingeing.

 

 

To find out more about emotional eating and to download the free booklet Simple Steps To Overcome Emotional Eating (which includes questionnaires to find out what if you are an emotional eater and if yes, type of emotional eater you are) use the sign up form below the book.

For more info on emotional eating visit the Weight & Emotional Eating page and my blog.

Dr. Sarah Allen specializes in empowering women to live the life they want.

She sees clients in her Northbrook office or via telephone or Skype sessions.

Visit www.drsarahallen.com for more blog posts on a variety of issues relevant to women.

She can also be reached at (847) 791-7722 or by the form below.

 

 

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa – disorders characterized by extreme eating behavior and distorted body image and a landmark study at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, suggests that the altered function in the brains of some people contributes to restricted eating in anorexia, overeating in bulimia as well as distorts self-image. The research, published June 2013 in American Journal of Psychiatry, may offer a pathway to new and more effective treatments for these serious eating disorders.

The study confirms that there is a clear link between eating disorders and neural processes in an area of the brain called the insula, which is where taste is sensed and then determines whether an individual feels hungry or full. “One possibility is that restricted eating and weight loss occurs in anorexia because the brain fails to accurately recognize hunger signals,” said study author Oberndorfer. “Alternately, overeating in bulimia could represent an exaggerated perception of hunger signals.”

The researchers added that such studies could have very important implications for treatment in the future. It may be possible to change disordered eating and body image by enhancing insula activity in individuals with anorexia or dampening the exaggerated or unstable response to food in those with bulimia.

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