I'm eating stress. What to do? Or how to cope with emotions without the help of food. That is, when I am physically not hungry, my body does not need food right now, but I want to eat stress (some kind of emotion). I ask myself, which one? Sadness, irritation, anger, fatigue, boredom, anxiety? How else can I live through these emotions without eating? Do I want to be alone, or do I need someone nearby who can comfort me? Am I ready to plunge into these emotions now or do I want to be distracted? Having answered these questions, you can choose one of 4 ways to cope with emotions: For example, I want to be alone, but I’m not ready to immerse myself in emotions right now. I mean, I need a distraction. I can watch a kind, positive, calming film. Listen to your favorite music. Read an interesting book. Clean the house, unpack the closet. Go for a walk alone (to clear your head). Take a relaxing bath. Yes, it usually takes longer than going to the refrigerator and eating. As one of my clients said: “Run a bath, lie in it - at least 30 minutes. And go eat for 10 minutes and you’ll feel better.” But as a result, you will kill two birds with one stone: learn to deal with emotions constructively, and stop eating them. Or I want to be alone, but I want to immerse myself in experiences. To better understand what is happening to me. I can write in a notebook (on a piece of paper) about what happened, what worries me, how I feel. How would I like the situation to be resolved? What can I do about this? If you don’t want to write, you can tell yourself the same thing in the mirror. I can just sit and cry and feel sorry for myself. Sometimes clients say: “I want to crawl under the blanket and hide.” I answer: “If you want, climb in. You lie down for 15-20 minutes, feel sorry for yourself and feel better.” I don’t want to, it’s hard for me to be alone now. I want to be with someone, but I don't want to talk about my problems. I can go to the cinema, club, for a walk with my girlfriend, boyfriend, husband. Go visit someone. Go shopping, attend a master class. Write, call someone just to chat about fashion, about the weather. I want to tell someone about my experiences. I can tell someone close to me about what happened if we live together. If not, then call or write to share (cry) and get support. Go to a psychologist or therapy group. Call the helpline. Try it, share your impressions. Is it possible to avoid stress eating in this way? I would be glad to receive feedback. And if you understand that you cannot cope with an eating disorder (eating disorder) on your own, sign up for a consultation. I'm always ready to help)) You can read about my working methods hereHow I work with eating disorders