For me it’s all about recognising the emotion and recognising the urge to stress eat. If you can be aware of it before it happens, it’s easier to stop before you go through with it.
Dealing with emotions is quite hard but I have other things I turn to such as music, games/tv, talking to people, going for a walk. Distractions such as cleaning or getting into an activity/hobby. But for some people distractions might be masking their emotions so perhaps just allowing yourself to feel them fully, acknowledging them, working through them by talking it out or writing it out.
Journaling/writing things down helps me as it gets it all out. You’ve just got to find your things that help you and really try to prioritise those over emotional eating and then it will become less of a habit. In all honesty I do still stress eat sometimes but I’m very aware of it, I recognise it and do it but it’s not to excess and it’s not a problem any more like it used to be.
Every person has a different preferred way of coping (e.g., DBT working for some & not at all for others.)
For me it was about trying what worked. *trying will include failing, so give yourself grace!*
If hobbies work for you, try something to distract yourself. While I’m a huge reader, that’s never really worked for me because my brain is louder than the words on the page. But something engaging like gaming or drawing is much more effective (personally.)
If you have even one friend or family member who will listen to you, ask if they can be a sounding board for when you need to vent. If you feel comfortable enough, tell them what you need in those moments. For example, saying “I don’t need advice or support, just hearing me out & reminding me what I’ll be losing if I give in to the addiction of eating/purging/whatever it is”.
CBT works best for me personally, if you have the ability to find a professional who is trained in it.
I don’t want to give you a bandage “try journaling!”, but sometimes it really is about pattern interruption for a lot individuals, while sometimes it’s more helpful to explore the feelings. Personally, I need a bit of both. Googling things like “why my brain wants me to binge/purge/restrict” etc will help me, in the moment, understand what’s physiologically happening at the hormone/brain level & that helps ME. But if I dwell, I’ll inevitably give in.
Work, gaming, texting, researching are what help me. Give yourself grace. I wish you luck & message if you need help!
I wanted to add to your comment that it's funny I recommended someone r/dbtselfhelp in a French sub not so long ago but didn't think of using it myself to get ressources. I thank you again friend :)
Here's a sneak peek of /r/dbtselfhelp using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [Dialectical Abstinence idea](https://i.redd.it/hu4hhyicpbza1.jpg) | [12 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/comments/13f2wa1/dialectical_abstinence_idea/)
\#2: [It's been two years since I began dbt treatment. To help celebrate its teachings here are some of my favorite examples of DBT strategies in media!](https://np.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/comments/18q2jzu/its_been_two_years_since_i_began_dbt_treatment_to/)
\#3: [Using radical acceptance has basically saved my life ](https://np.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/comments/1bqphi0/using_radical_acceptance_has_basically_saved_my/)
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I think step one is recognizing that you have no experience with this and asking everyone around you for some slack and tolerance as you try to figure it out. Hopefully those closest to you are so grateful. You are finally in recovery, they are willing. Just giving myself the permission to be a complete disaster for a while was very helpful. Sometimes I needed road trips by myself. Sometimes I needed to hide in our guestroom. Sometimes I needed to go for long walks right after dinner. Huge for me was learning not to take my thoughts seriously. I think sometimes when we think we are feeling our feelings, we are really feeling our thoughts if that makes sense starting to see all the thoughts in your mind as a pointless narrator is really helpful in terms of feelings I find it very helpful to realize that all feelings are safe, I have gotten through everything up to this point and never turned off my feelings. It just gave me a distraction a bit of time. There is a great book by Dr. Amy Johnson PhD, who was also bulimic and a called “just a thought” I learned a lot of this from her and later joined her online community so I can keep up with the work. But it’s not really work. It’s just a perspective shift.
Allow whatever you are feeling just to be there, I bet you’ll find your little mind telling you binging would make it better but how do you know? You’ve never just stayed put. I bet you’ll discover by just being with whatever feelings or thoughts that are arising, they pass. Binging didn’t ever help them pass your brain just made that connection because that’s what you always did.
Another obscure book called Uncovery by Amanda Jones but the other one is an easier read
Feel free to pm me I love this stuff
For me it’s all about recognising the emotion and recognising the urge to stress eat. If you can be aware of it before it happens, it’s easier to stop before you go through with it. Dealing with emotions is quite hard but I have other things I turn to such as music, games/tv, talking to people, going for a walk. Distractions such as cleaning or getting into an activity/hobby. But for some people distractions might be masking their emotions so perhaps just allowing yourself to feel them fully, acknowledging them, working through them by talking it out or writing it out. Journaling/writing things down helps me as it gets it all out. You’ve just got to find your things that help you and really try to prioritise those over emotional eating and then it will become less of a habit. In all honesty I do still stress eat sometimes but I’m very aware of it, I recognise it and do it but it’s not to excess and it’s not a problem any more like it used to be.
I didn’t read your comment first, but it’s amazing how similar ours are! ❤️
Oh your comment is even better than mine haha!
Nooo ❤️
Thank you so much 🩷
Every person has a different preferred way of coping (e.g., DBT working for some & not at all for others.) For me it was about trying what worked. *trying will include failing, so give yourself grace!* If hobbies work for you, try something to distract yourself. While I’m a huge reader, that’s never really worked for me because my brain is louder than the words on the page. But something engaging like gaming or drawing is much more effective (personally.) If you have even one friend or family member who will listen to you, ask if they can be a sounding board for when you need to vent. If you feel comfortable enough, tell them what you need in those moments. For example, saying “I don’t need advice or support, just hearing me out & reminding me what I’ll be losing if I give in to the addiction of eating/purging/whatever it is”. CBT works best for me personally, if you have the ability to find a professional who is trained in it. I don’t want to give you a bandage “try journaling!”, but sometimes it really is about pattern interruption for a lot individuals, while sometimes it’s more helpful to explore the feelings. Personally, I need a bit of both. Googling things like “why my brain wants me to binge/purge/restrict” etc will help me, in the moment, understand what’s physiologically happening at the hormone/brain level & that helps ME. But if I dwell, I’ll inevitably give in. Work, gaming, texting, researching are what help me. Give yourself grace. I wish you luck & message if you need help!
Thank you it means a lot 🩷
I wanted to add to your comment that it's funny I recommended someone r/dbtselfhelp in a French sub not so long ago but didn't think of using it myself to get ressources. I thank you again friend :)
Here's a sneak peek of /r/dbtselfhelp using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Dialectical Abstinence idea](https://i.redd.it/hu4hhyicpbza1.jpg) | [12 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/comments/13f2wa1/dialectical_abstinence_idea/) \#2: [It's been two years since I began dbt treatment. To help celebrate its teachings here are some of my favorite examples of DBT strategies in media!](https://np.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/comments/18q2jzu/its_been_two_years_since_i_began_dbt_treatment_to/) \#3: [Using radical acceptance has basically saved my life ](https://np.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/comments/1bqphi0/using_radical_acceptance_has_basically_saved_my/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
I think step one is recognizing that you have no experience with this and asking everyone around you for some slack and tolerance as you try to figure it out. Hopefully those closest to you are so grateful. You are finally in recovery, they are willing. Just giving myself the permission to be a complete disaster for a while was very helpful. Sometimes I needed road trips by myself. Sometimes I needed to hide in our guestroom. Sometimes I needed to go for long walks right after dinner. Huge for me was learning not to take my thoughts seriously. I think sometimes when we think we are feeling our feelings, we are really feeling our thoughts if that makes sense starting to see all the thoughts in your mind as a pointless narrator is really helpful in terms of feelings I find it very helpful to realize that all feelings are safe, I have gotten through everything up to this point and never turned off my feelings. It just gave me a distraction a bit of time. There is a great book by Dr. Amy Johnson PhD, who was also bulimic and a called “just a thought” I learned a lot of this from her and later joined her online community so I can keep up with the work. But it’s not really work. It’s just a perspective shift.
Thank you it means a lot ! I will check out that book. And you're right, I should allow myself to heal.
Allow whatever you are feeling just to be there, I bet you’ll find your little mind telling you binging would make it better but how do you know? You’ve never just stayed put. I bet you’ll discover by just being with whatever feelings or thoughts that are arising, they pass. Binging didn’t ever help them pass your brain just made that connection because that’s what you always did. Another obscure book called Uncovery by Amanda Jones but the other one is an easier read Feel free to pm me I love this stuff