Why Do We Hide Our Emotions in Our Eating Habits? Get Help Healing from Bulimia!

You’ve had a long day. In fact, you have worked long hours and dealt with the kids, and all you want to do is tune out everything, relax in front of the tv, and eat. It’s easy to put our emotions on hold during the frustrations and nonstop madness of the day so that we can eat something that tastes good and numb out. Whether you need healing from bulimia in Chicago, IL, New York, Florida, or California, it’s easy to fall into this pattern day after day. So why the heck do we do it? Read on to find out.

#1: We give, and give, and give . . . but how do we start healing from Bulimia or Binge-Eating?

Life is pretty much nonstop. It feels as though we are driving 95 miles per hour and don’t slam on the breaks until the end of the day. Whether it’s driving kids to school in Atlanta, going from meeting to an appointment in Chicago, or hosting a special event in Florida, it seems as if we are spending all our time giving. Society’s expectations, especially for women, are brutal. Having time to take a breath often feels impossible. Addressing our emotions throughout the day is improbable. Giving so many leads to two things: burnout and resentment. When we feel depleted and have the increasing realization that no one is going to meet our needs, we turn to something accessible—food.

THE GOOD NEWS ON RECOVERY AND HEALING FROM EATING DISORDERS:

It is possible to slow down our nervous systems and pace our day more efficiently and effectively. Plus, we can change how we handle stressors so that we can feel less spent by the end of the day. We also can learn to reach out for support and set boundaries so that we give less to others and can give more to ourselves.

#2: We feel overwhelmed when emotions hit.

When we feel exhausted, emotions seem overwhelming. Sometimes it’s easier to put them into a box and bury them six feet underground. When I was in my eating disorder, I often didn’t know what I was feeling. I just knew that it felt like crap. The anxiety built throughout the day until I couldn’t take it anymore, and then I turned to food. People who struggle with binge eating, bulimia, and emotional eating actually have dopamine and opioid receptors that are more sensitive to food intake. It meant I was biologically predisposed to experience more pleasure from eating than individuals without this predisposition. The bottom line? When I felt terrible emotionally, food helped me feel better.

THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT BINGE EATING AND BULIMIA RECOVERY:

Healing from bulimia and binge eating recovery involves changing our brains so that food doesn’t bring that calm/numbness/euphoria that it used to. When I feel upset, eating doesn’t help me anymore (unless I’m hangry lol). Coping skills are what help me. Loved ones help me.

#3: There isn’t space for our emotions in our family systems for Healing from Binge Eating or Bulimia.

This one is tough. In my 12 years of working with eating disorders in San Diego, many of my clients have shared how they felt dismissed, invalidated, and gaslit by family members. What’s crazy is that it happened in the past with their families of origin and is currently occurring in their present relationships. If you’re told that you’re “too sensitive” over and over again, you start believing it. You then lock down your emotions. Hard. When there is no space for our emotions, and we’re biologically predisposed to developing eating issues, we eat to self-soothe.

THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT HEALING FROM BULIMIA AND BINGE EATING:

We can change unhelpful relationship patterns in our families. It’s all about boundaries, baby! Learning how to set boundaries is like learning a new language. We create a new “relationship language” by interacting with people differently. It may mean establishing more space with some family members and getting closer to others. It is possible to create space for your emotions with the proper support.

Looking for a Solution? Start getting help Healing from Bulimia in Chicago, IL, California, NYC, Florida, Chicago, Atlanta, Texas, and Anywhere in the World!

💚 Save your spot for my FREE, 3-day, live, virtual Ultimate Binge Busters Masterclass. You’ll get up-to-date information on how to overcome binge eating in 2024! It’s daily from Monday, February 26th through Wednesday, February 28th, from 12-1p PST (3-4p EST, 8-9p GMT).

💚 Sign up for the ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD*. It’s a 3-month, online binge-eating coaching + an online class for professionals, students, athletes, and all-around high achievers who just want to gain balance and control of food.

💚 Join DR. MARIANNE-LAND’S BINGE EATING RECOVERY MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM*. It’s a self-paced, virtual membership program that takes you through my RE(x3) Binge Eating Recovery System to help reduce and eliminate your binge eating episodes so that you can

💚 Listen to my podcast on Apple or Spotify. I have conversations with professionals such as eating disorder dietitians and therapists on many topics, such as binge eating, BED, bulimia, body image, etc.

💚 Subscribe to my Instagram @drmariannemiller, and you’ll get bulimia and BED info sent to your phone with my reels, posts, etc.

*The ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD and DR. MARIANNE-LAND’S BINGE EATING RECOVERY MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM is virtual binge eating education and coaching support. The goal of this program is to help people stop any type of distressed eating, such as binge eating or binge/purge behaviors via education, behavioral changes, and mindset shifts. The ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD is not a clinical eating disorder therapy or eating disorder treatment programs and is not intended to serve as such. In them, Dr. Marianne Miller works from her role as a binge-eating coach, not as a binge-eating therapist.