Emotional eating gets a bad rap as something that people do when they have no self-control or awareness. But what if we told you that overeating at times is a normal (and human) part of having a healthy relationship with food?

Every person has an individual archetype that explains how emotional eating is showing up in their life. Understanding this is the key to being able to start eating with purpose, pleasure and self-love.

This blog will talk you through why emotional overeating might be happening and how it links to each archetype – and most importantly, what to do next!

Before we start…

We want to reassure you that emotional overeating is not a negative thing.

 Humans are emotional beings and our emotions have been intrinsically linked to food since the day we were born - think of a mother feeding her crying baby. Disentangling food from our emotions is not possible (and shouldn’t be the goal).

The problem with emotional overeating arises when food is the only tool you have in your toolbox to cope with discomfort, or when it’s not actually helping you to cope. Food is generally the Band-Aid of coping strategies – it’s a great quick fix but it’s often not a resolution.

How to tell the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger

 The first step to understanding your emotional eating is being able to identify it. Hunger can feel very different from person to person so it’s important to tune into your body’s cues.

 Typically, physical hunger will appear gradually and dissipate after eating a regular portion of food. Emotional hunger, by contrast, can be sudden, intense and urgent. It is often very specific in terms of the type of food desired, and you may eat very quickly. Lastly, many people find emotional eating is followed by feelings of guilt.

 

So why does emotional eating happen at all?

ONE: Stress

Stress is often the first emotion we associate with overeating, and it is associated with the Chaotic Eater archetype.  

Short term stress (watching a scary movie, for example) triggers the release of the hormone adrenaline as your body enters fight or flight. This decreases your appetite, as there is no time for eating and digesting when your body is in a panic!

However, when you’re in a state of chronic stress (such as during exam season at school), a different hormone known as cortisol is released. This has the opposite effect on appetite and increases your desire for high fat and sugar foods. It is thought this is due sense of comfort provided when these foods trigger reward systems in the brain.1

Stress eating can also be linked to deprivation, as mental restriction (i.e. eating enough calories, but depriving ourselves of the foods we really want) causes higher cortisol levels and an increased likelihood of overeating in response to stress.1

Eating a common way to manage stress, so there’s no need to try and avoid it completely! However, it’s important to combine it with other self-care strategies are more likely to be effective in the long term, like meditation, journaling or counselling.

TWO: Under-stimulation

Another common trigger for emotional overeating is under-stimulation, which is linked to the Zest Seeker archetype.

This type of eating comes from a place of boredom or lack of pleasure throughout the day. As mentioned above, food is well known to trigger reward systems in the brain, and people who overeat due to under-stimulation are typically using food as a burst of excitement in their day – for example, using food as a “treat” when you complete a mundane task. 

Food is supposed to be pleasurable, and there’s no shame in using it in that way. But it’s a good idea to ask yourself: “Am I relying on food to bring joy to my life instead of seeking it out in other areas?” 

THREE: Distraction

Emotional overeating can also occur due to distractedness, which is experienced by the Head-In-The-Clouds Eater archetype.

If you find yourself mindlessly eating and asking yourself “How did I get here?”, you might be experiencing distracted eating.

It’s okay to zone out with food sometimes! There’s something special about mindlessly munching through a bag of popcorn while watching a movie, for example. However, it’s important to bring thought and intention into the equation to make this a conscious decision, rather than it happening to you.

FOUR: Deprivation

Emotional eating as a result of deprivation is associated with the Chronic Dieter archetype.

This kind of overeating occurs as a rebound from physical OR mental restriction, as the body tries to regain what it has missed out on. Research shows that former or current dieters engage in more emotional eating than people without a history of dieting.2

When we have rigid rules around food, we become disconnected from our body signals. This causes us to be less attuned to our hunger and fullness cues, and increases the likelihood of overeating later on.1

This is just one reason why it’s so powerful to find food freedom!

FIVE: Avoidance

The Avoidant Eater archetype is linked to using food as a numbing strategy, where eating helps to distract from unpleasant thoughts or emotions.

This is demonstrated in the research on the strong association between overeating and past history of trauma.3

 It is natural to want to avoid difficult feelings. However, imagine for a moment that you are holding a beach ball under water; as soon as you release the pressure for a second, the beach ball will fly back to the surface with force. The same happens with emotions that we try to suppress – they rise up to the surface faster and harder than before.

It is more helpful to ride the wave of our emotions than to let them build up, by acknowledging them, feeling them, and then let them eventually subside. For people with a history of trauma, this is best done with professional support.

SIX: Pleasure

Overeating for pleasure is linked to the final archetype, the Intuitive Eater.

Eating for enjoyment and satisfaction is normal and encouraged! Food is so much more than fuel - it is celebration, connection, nostalgia and more.

This is what food freedom is all about!

So you’re emotionally overeating – now what?

Step 1:  Take the quiz to learn more about your unique Emotional Eating Archetype and how this may affect your eating style: https://www.arianarodriguez.com/quiz

Step 2: Give yourself some self-compassion! Emotional eating is normal and human, and accepting this is key to releasing the guilt you might be experiencing.

Step 3: When the urge to overeat pops up, check in with yourself - what are you feeling right now? By identifying the driver of the urge to emotionally eat, you can begin to decide how to manage it. 

Step 4: Ask yourself if there might be a more helpful strategy than eating right now. There might not be – and that’s okay!

For one-on-one support with healing your relationship with food, submit your application to Ari’s Signature RE:ALIGN Programme here: https://www.arianarodriguez.com/one-to-one-coaching

  

Karli Battaglia, APD

 

References

1.      Yau Y, Potenza M. Stress and Eating Behaviors. Minerva Endocrinol. 2013Sep; 38(3): 255–67. 

2.     Péneau S, Ménard E, Méjean C, Bellisle F, Hercberg S. Sex and dieting modify the association between emotional eating and weight status,. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2013Jun;97(6):1307–13. 

3.     Legendre M, Sabourin S, Bégin C. Maladaptive eating behaviors and childhood trauma: A focus on food addiction. Cureus. 2022Jul;14(7).