Stress/Emotional Eating

Stress/Emotional Eating 

If you are a professional caregiver or taking care of a loved one as their caregiver, you can become very stressed. Years of experience have shown me that generally, those who care for others tend to put themselves last, thus not taking very good care of themselves. This can lead to health problems for the caregiver which in turn leads to problems for the person for whom they are caring. 

Stress or emotional eating is not an uncommon problem and is often seen in stressed out caregivers. It means that you eat for reasons other than hunger. Some of us turn to food for comfort and our strongest cravings sometimes happen when we are vulnerable emotionally! We may ignore our body's natural signals for hunger and fullness and eat more than we need or really want. This can not only cause problems with efforts to lose weight but can also have unhealthy side affects. 

Below are some signs that you may be stress/emotional eating: 

1. What you eat changes when there is something going on in your life that is causing you stress

2. You are eating when you are not hungry

3. You continue eating even if you are full

4. You find comfort in eating

5. You pay little attention to what you are eating (thus not really getting enjoyment from your food) and may not really have a strong memory of eating

6. You eat to delay dealing with something else in your life

7. You reward yourself with food

8. You eat a larger portions of foods than you would normally eat 

There are ways to combat this destructive way of dealing with stress and/or emotional upheaval. First identify what is causing the behavior. Take a few minutes to write down what you eat and when. Identify your feelings during this time. Chart whether you were truly hungry when you were eating as well. You should start to identify patterns in your behavior. 

Next you should try different ways to deal with stress than eating. You may have to try a few different things before finding the one(s) that work best for you. Below are some things to try: 

1. Stand up, stretch and breathe deeply

2. Picture yourself if a calming, safe place – spend a few minutes there in your thoughts

3. Take a short walk

4. Call someone that can help you talk out the problem(s)

5. Change your activity – go back to what you were doing after you have calmed yourself 

If none of these things work for you, seek professional help to assist you in managing your stress. Take care of yourself so that you can take great care of others!

 

Posted Monday, 02/06/12, 12:30 PM - Comments - Category: The Caregiver Column

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