Emotional Eating

Psalm 139:14: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

Emotional eating occurs when food is used for reasons other than to nourish the body. Instead of eating as a response to hunger, emotional eating is an unhealthy response to feelings. During an episode of emotional eating, food can be used to soothe, comfort, punish, or hurt. That is, an individual can use food to relieve pain or to inflict pain on himself/herself. Often, emotional eating expresses something that is difficult to put into words. For example, emotional eating may be used to avoid the feelings of being out of control, lonely, or unloved. Common triggers for emotional eating include stress, loneliness, boredom, depression, fatigue, fear, anger, disappointment, and many others.

Documents for Free Download

Eating-Related Struggles
Eating-related struggles, including sub-clinical eating disorders and emotional eating, are discussed in this set of PowerPoint handouts developed by ACCFS. Guidelines are given for how to manage these types of struggles.

True Guilt - False Guilt Written from an explicitly Christian perspective.
This document, developed by ACCFS, highlights the differences between true guilt and false guilt. True guilt leads to restoration with God and others while false guilt leads to an endless cycle of shame, hopelessness, and despair.

Emotional & Physical Danger Signs for Acting Out Written from an explicitly Christian perspective.
This document, developed by ACCFS, lists emotional and physical states that you may feel when you get the urge to act on unhealthy, sinful, and/or addictive impulses (e.g., desire to drink, binge or purge, allowing impure sexual fantasy to run, etc.). By becoming aware of these triggers, you can begin to use healthy, Christ-honoring coping skills to deal with them more effectively.

Overcoming Temptation Written from an explicitly Christian perspective.
A study by Elder Bro. Lynn Stieglitz on how to wage a successful battle with our spiritual enemy, using faith and the armor of God. The author describes how the "shield of faith" can extinguish "fiery darts" and explains why God helps us to endure some temptations and directs us to flee from others.

Presentations

In His Image Written from an explicitly Christian perspective.

View Slideshow PDF Handout

Women's Seminar Written from an explicitly Christian perspective.

View Slideshow PDF Handout

Details: Category: Mental Health