JMC Psychotherapy, Bolton – What is
overeating / emotional eating disorder?

It is eating for a reason other than responding to hunger. We need to look at these reasons.
Eating can be imbued with a great deal of emotion. Emotional eating is controlled not only with healthier foods or smaller portions, but by getting whatever help and support you need to learn how to handle non-hunger urges.

Other questions arise from the general heading of eating issues.

Why don’t diets work for me?

“I’m constantly on a diet but my weight seems to go up and down like a yo-yo.”
How many of us have been in this position? It only takes a small lapse from a rigid dietary regime to make you feel demoralised and as a result you give up on  the diet and possibly comfort eat. Of course a good balanced diet is needed to be healthy and keep our weight under control, but that is only part of the issue. There are also emotional issues which need to be addressed.

What is comfort eating?

This is when you eat, not because you are hungry, but for other reasons; perhaps you are bored, fed up or depressed. You may do it to cheer yourself up. Of course, an occasional treat is good for you, but consistent comfort eating will lead to your becoming overweight, and comfort eating while on a diet will undo all your good work.

What is binge eating?

Binge eating means eating to the point where you are over full, and you possibly even feel sick. It involves eating while at the same time knowing that you don’t really want any more, but somehow you feel you can’t stop yourself. You may not binge in one session; for some people it’s a question of “grazing” throughout the day, seemingly unable to stop. Binge eating is often followed by feelings of shame. The term for this is “bulimia” which means eating like an ox. Often people with a bulimic disorder see binges as central to their eating disorder.
Bingeing is not the result of being a weak willed person. There are many reasons why a person binge eats.

Emotional / Compulsive Overeating – Questions
Below are just a few questions you might want to consider about eating issues:

• What did I learn about eating while growing up?
• What emotions am I trying to suppress?
• What is the inner hunger I am trying to fill?
• Am I eating out of boredom or frustration?
• Does eating distract me from something else?
• Am I eating in secret?
• Why can I not stop after two chocolate biscuits?
• Am I unable to refuse food?
• When I eat, do I enjoy my food? Do I actually even notice I’ve eaten?
• Do I eat up whatever is left – perhaps on my children’s plates – to avoid wasting food?

How can psychotherapy help me with to deal with overeating?

Therapy will identify your eating patterns so that you can have access to very specific ideas and strategies to help you on a daily basis. It will help you understand the reasons behind your eating patterns, the feelings and attitudes you have towards food, and what you have been taught around how to eat. Therapy will promote an understanding and help you to bring about the changes you want to make.

Psychotherapy – proven to help with emotional / compulsive overeating

Research shows that 60% of people who have experienced psychotherapy are still doing well after two years as opposed to the 40% who just underwent weight loss programmes.

The reasons behind eating issues vary for everyone, and in the process of therapy we will find out not only techniques to help you eat less but also your specific triggers and the root causes behind the overeating problem.

Telephone Consultations

I am frequently contacted by visitors to my website who feel that they need a consultation but live some distance from my office in Bolton, Greater Manchester. If you feel that you would benefit from a telephone conversation, please visit Psychotherapy Consultations – Online Payment page to see how it works.

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