The start of a new year is often a time of reflection and goal setting for people. The idea of establishing new habits, working towards change, and accomplishing goals can be exciting and scary. Working with clients I notice there is often hope for the future and some guilt and shame towards past circumstances.
Often an area people reflect on is their eating habits and how it has impacted them. Emotional eating, eating disorders, and the relationship clients establish with food often impact them throughout their life. Food is all around us and is something that impacts everyone and every culture differently. Relationships with food often start early on and can be impacted by socioeconomic status, cultural background, and many other things. It is important for all to remember that each person has their own personal relationship with food and whether they view it as a positive or negative relationship.
My latest simple pleasure I have found myself watching is My 600-lb Life. For those of you who have not heard of or watched this show, it tells the personal stories of people who have experienced food addiction and emotional eating that want to make a change. Their weight impacts their ability to obtain medical help and they typically begin to work with a specialist who works with patients over a certain weight. Throughout the experience of me watching the show I have seen many social media threads that have all types of comments about the people on the show and how they are portrayed. Most commenters are harsh in their opinions and blunt with their comments. While I understand the perspective, it has been beneficial for me to learn more about how people establish the eating habits portrayed in this reality show. While each story is very different there are commonalities I have noticed in this show, as with clients who I work with who experience food as a relief of their emotions. As we begin to investigate the commonalities, it is important to understand how the brain is impacted by eating disorders.
Emotions can impact food choices - - Here is why.
I am guilty of mindless eating at times and have become aware of the direct correlation with heightened emotions and triggered cravings. Have you noticed yourself reaching for desserts or those easy to get snacks (chips, crackers, etc) in times of heightened anxiety, stress or boredom? Sometimes it is hard to resist the urge for comfort foods after a long day at work, home, or school. Often, when this happens our brain is set into an old pattern of emotional eating that begins the spiral of guilt, shame, and higher anxiety. This is a common factor in each story represented in the show and with most clients who experience disordered eating.
Our brain does an excellent job at constantly attempting to protect us from physical and emotional dangers or pain. As a stress response our body releases cortisol. Cortisol has been linked to increased appetite and cravings for those “comfort” foods that are typically very high in sugar, fat, and tastiness. While the ingredients in these foods are not harmful in themselves, the continued use of them in high quantities does affect our body, emotions, and brain. Since these foods are typically highly-palatable they can become addictive and part of the cycle that contributes to increased disordered eating. The taste and desire together can combine to increase the desire for these foods which eventually can lead to eating disorders and addiction. There have been studies that connect dopamine release during consumption of high-fat and high-sugar foods that create an association of the food with pleasure in our brain and body. Thus begins the cycle of food to become a way to cope with intense emotions that can lead us to feeling out of control.
Control as a response to trauma and stress
This leads us to the next commonality I see with each cast member, the desire and need to gain control over something. Each cast member shares of their early years and how their eating habits developed. As I continued to watch the experience of trauma continues to be [resent in each story. While each specific experience is different, the most common types discussed are sexual. Physical and emotional abuse along with attachment trauma (ie caregiver leaving or dying in early childhood/adolescents). As with clients who begin therapy, most, if not all clients I see, have experienced a form of attachment trauma. As a result of clients or cast members desperately wanting normalcy and control most of them begin to find their dopamine release from eating specific types of foods as addressed above.
The desire for control creates a trauma response where the control becomes what, when, how much and where someone eats. An important part of addressing emotional eating and disordered eating is establishing the storyline of what contributed to a need for control and how that currently impacts a person in their present life. Addressing the desire for control can often begin the process of allowing a person to create new patterns. While this is a hopeful time, it is also difficult to establish new patterns within a person's current personal dynamic with food and eating habits.
Can therapy help overcome disordered eating?
Throughout the seasons of My 600-lbs Life, it became apparent to me that each individual on the show would benefit from mental health services. The trauma stories that were apparent in their lives are not unique to people on this show. If you are someone who wants to explore the eating patterns you currently have therapy can help! Fortunately, when it comes to trauma, emotional eating, disordered eating, and the desire to regain control of your life, evidence proves that inner work with a professional can help you start your journey to feeling like a better version of yourself. Services for eating patterns can assist you with better understanding how different past experiences can show up and impact you now. The venture of beginning therapy for eating disorders can seem daunting, can feel overwhelming, and can be extremely hard and scary to start. In sessions, the more trust you build with your therapist the more these feelings should dissipate and you both can work together to establish the understanding of your past, gain knowledge about how you're currently impacted, and begin to help you process the desire to use eating as a way to gain control in your life.
Self compassion when addressing disordered eating.
While often it is easy to say “be kind to yourself” or “love yourself” it is extremely difficult for most people who have experienced attachment trauma or other types of trauma that could be dealing with the aftermath by disordered eating patterns. What I mean when I say showing self compassion is allowing yourself to better understand the process it takes to continue the journey of healing. Part of this journey is gaining knowledge to increase your awareness for what is happening within your relationship with food. Developing a more positive relationship with yourself and with food is not out of your grasp. While it is not typically a straight path, allowing yourself to focus on consistent progress rather than perfection can allow you to develop new habits that can create a long term change to your self compassion and your eating habits. Creating new neural pathways within your brain through therapy services with a knowledgeable therapist can assist you in creating a relationship with food that you feel pleased with and proud of.
At Root Counseling, we have experienced therapist who want to walk with you through investigating your eating patterns and past experiences. If you're interested in finding someone you can trust, schedule a consult with one of our licensed therapists, here.
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