Building an Emotional Eating Toolbox

Hello everyone! It's Karen here, ready to talk about emotional eating with you this week. One of the things we'll discuss is how food, for many of us, is a default coping mechanism for emotions. It's easy, accessible and feels good in the moment. And while eating can be one option for how you choose to deal with emotions, you don't want it to be the only option. We want to give ourselves a variety of tools to choose from when emotions hit. Think of it like a toolbox, where you have a variety of tools, each designed to address a specific need. Here are some ideas for how you can build an emotional eating toolbox:

Soothing/calming tools:

• Deep breathing exercises
• Guided meditation
• Snuggling with a pet or stuffed animal 
• Put a cold or hot washcloth on your face
• Take a shower or bath
• Lay in a restorative yoga position for a few seconds 
• Play calming music
• Use essential oils 

Connection tools:

• Spend time with a partner or a family member
• Call someone you haven't talked with in a while
• Text with a friend
• Interact on social media (be careful with this one!)

Laughter/joy tools:

• Watch an episode of a funny TV show
• Listen to a funny podcast 
• Dance like no one is watching to a fun song
• Play with a child or pet

Energizing tools:

• Go for a brisk walk outside
• Brew a cup of coffee or tea
• Listen to energizing music 
• Take a power nap

Processing tools:

• Journaling
• Make an appointment with a therapist
• Practice a deep breathing exercise or meditation to help you sit with your emotions 
• Cry or scream into a pillow

Distraction tools:

• Work on a puzzle
• Play a game on your phone
• Do some small chores around the house

Everyone's toolbox will look different, but when emotions bubble up, you'll be ready with some non-foods way to cope.