Why is emotional eating bad?

Answer 1

Emotional eating is not actually bad. It's normal when done in moderation. All of us emotionally eat from time. After a funeral for example, food is often a source of comfort for the bereaved. Emotionally eating becomes unhealthy when it is the primary coping strategy for dealing with emotions (both pleasant and unpleasant). This becomes unhealthy because the emotions don't ever get dealt with or processed. They just get piled on inside and then you need more food to keep them down and the cycle continues. What makes this so problematic is that we need our emotions to help us make decisions, take action to protect ourselves, give us information about we need and so forth. If our emotions are ignored then we lose touch with this important aspect of our Biology. For example, a common emotion "stuffed" by many women is anger. Some women were taught that anger is not ok to express. By "stuffing" anger, the emotion turns inside, which can lead to depression, negative thoughts (all the anger coming out on the inside!) Furthermore, anger is an emotion that tells us something is not ok. Our boundaries have been violated and need protection. By ignoring the emotion, the problem is never dealt with and thus your needs are not met. This is why using emotional eating as a regular coping strategy can be limiting.