Ways to Help Stop Emotional Eating

When dealing with overwhelming emotions or trauma, it can be easy to self-medicate in various ways to cope. Whether it is through substance use, emotional eating, or under-eating, these kinds of self-soothing mechanisms can have dangerous and even deadly effects if they are ignored and not carefully managed and treated.

Because of perceived stigma and shame, many who are suffering with these disorders do not seek help. However, if you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms of disordered eating, you don’t have to deal with it alone. At Alina Lodge, our team has years of experience helping people overcome these disorders. Our eating disorder therapy program may be the key for you or someone you care about to begin recovery.

What Can Be Done To Stop Emotional Eating?

Most of those who use food as a comfort and coping tool do so in privacy and isolation. This is due to feelings of guilt and shame around the issue. While disordered eating may be frightening to deal with, it’s important to remember that there are many people who do understand these issues, and they can help you stop emotional eating. Our Alina Lodge team can help.

Perhaps it’s a person close to you that may need to stop emotional eating. It can be difficult to confront a loved one if they aren’t admitting they have a problem. But, it can be dangerous to stand back and do nothing. You can help a friend or family get the eating disorder treatment they need and deserve. If you do have to have this difficult conversation with someone, keep these tips in mind:

• Avoid harsh criticism, blame, or ridicule. Being open, supportive, and focusing on positive habits and constructive behaviors is usually the most effective approach.
• Share in the burden and the responsibility it takes to recover. Being able to share in supporting healthier habits can result in much faster and more effective recovery, as accountability is a key factor.
• Practice strong and healthy boundaries. If your family member needs your support, offer it in the ways that you can without giving more of yourself and your time than is sustainable.
• Don’t give up. Even though relapse and recurrence of symptoms may happen, remember that healing is not a linear journey for most. It may take multiple attempts and time to figure out what tools may help and apply skills learned in eating disorder treatment.

How Can Alina Lodge Help?

At Alina Lodge, we have a team of professionals who are well-versed in mental health diagnoses, including eating disorders, substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, bipolar, and more. It is common for those who have eating disorders to also struggle with co-occurring diagnoses, so having a team that understands the connections between these disorders and how to help heal underlying trauma can be life-changing.

Our approach is one of patience and step-by-step recovery, allowing students to take their time. Everybody will find healing and recovery at their own pace, and we are proud to offer our students however much time they need. Your recovery journey is as unique as you are, and we will support you every step of the way.

Stop Emotional Eating with Help from Alina Lodge

At Alina Lodge, you can find the empathy, understanding, and compassion needed for genuine recovery from eating disorders. Just remember that it is possible to stop emotional eating. But, the first step is up to you. Reach out to us online or call 833.685.1700 today, and we can help you tailor our treatment programs for individual needs. We look forward to being a part of your healing journey.