Binge Eating And Boundaries

JUST FOR TODAY:  Be aware of any emotional desire to eat.  You can successfully avoid binge eating if you set healthy boundaries to address what is triggering you.

The desire to eat can be triggered by a variety of emotions, such as discomfort, anxiety, or frustration.  Your emotions are the result of your reaction to specific situations.  When you feel any intense emotion surfacing, you can prevent binge eating if you set healthy boundaries by taking one of the following four actions.  First, you can remove yourself from the situation, and do your best to avoid similar situations.  Second, you can rewrite the situation in your mind, so that your thoughts are more positive, and therefore your emotions are too.  Third, you can resolve the situation by sharing how you feel with others who are involved in the situation, and stating your needs to improve the situation.  Your fourth option is a combination the first three options: remove yourself to immediately stop your exposure to the trigger, then rewrite your thoughts about it so you are feeling less triggered, and when you're ready go back to the situation so that you can resolve it.  Try one of these options the next time you're in a triggering situation, and notice what happens.    

©2009 by "Dr. Dorie" McCubbrey, M.S.Ed., Ph.D. – Eating Disorder & Obesity Treatment Specialist – Denver, Colorado