Second that Emotion

Now in his tenth year with Operation Transformation, clinical psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy says that the emotions associated with eating are at the core of the issues faced by both the Leaders and the rest of us

Psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy investigates emotional eating and how you can actively combat it with a three-step programme

Emotional Eating: Know The Role That It Plays In Your Life

This year, Operation Transformation is about back to basics and for me, one of the most basic areas to address is the role that emotional eating plays in our leaders’ lives and for many people who struggle with weight. Are you an emotional eater? Do you comfort-eat or do you eat junk food as a result of your feelings instead of hunger?

We naturally learn from an early age to associate food with comfort, but year a er year, I see the in ated importance that treats and sweets play in our lives. ink about it: how big a role does treat food play in both the happy events (birthdays) and even the sad events (bereavement) in our lives?

Stu ng ourselves with food can become a habit when we are dealing with the emotional distress of boredom, stress, anger, loneliness, depression, relationship and communication di culties, low self esteem, etc. In e ect, our eating habits stop us from learning valuable skills that could help us solve our emotional distress.

is becomes a negative cycle, where overeating results in weight gain and more negative emotions of self-blame, criticism, anger, etc

By understanding the triggers for emotional eating and using Cognitive Behavioural erapy (CBT) techniques we can learn new skills to deal with our emotional distress. With these skills, emotional eating, stress eating, night grazing and mindless eating with that inevitable weight gain are no more.