How Low Self Esteem Affects Emotional Eating

Low self-esteem can trigger emotional eating through a complex interplay of psychological, emotional, and behavioural factors. Here’s how it typically unfolds:

 

    1. Negative Self-Perception: People with low self-esteem often have a negative view of themselves, feeling unworthy, inadequate, or unattractive. These negative self-perceptions can lead to a heightened emotional vulnerability.
    2. Emotional Distress: Low self-esteem is frequently associated with increased emotional distress such as sadness, anxiety, or loneliness. These negative emotions can be overwhelming and difficult to cope with.
    3. Coping Mechanism: Emotional eating serves as a coping mechanism for dealing with negative emotions. It provides temporary relief by offering comfort and distraction from emotional pain or discomfort.
    4. Food as Soothing: Certain foods, especially those high in fat, sugar, or salt, can trigger the brain’s reward system and release feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin or dopamine. Eating these foods temporarily boosts mood and creates a sense of pleasure and comfort.
    5. Associative Conditioning: Over time, a person with low self-esteem may associate eating certain foods with emotional relief. They may develop a conditioned response, where the act of eating becomes a habitual way to cope with negative emotions.
    6. Guilt and Shame: Following emotional eating, feelings of guilt, shame, or regret may arise due to overeating or consuming unhealthy foods. These negative feelings can further perpetuate the cycle of low self-esteem, leading to a cycle of emotional eating.
    7. Weight Gain and Body Image Concerns: Emotional eating can contribute to weight gain or difficulties in weight management. For individuals with low self-esteem, this weight gain can reinforce negative body image and further erode self-esteem, perpetuating the cycle of emotional eating.

 

 

Breaking the cycle of emotional eating and addressing low self-esteem requires a multifaceted approach, including therapy, self-care strategies, and developing healthier coping mechanisms for dealing with negative emotions. Seeking professional help, such as therapy or counselling, can be beneficial in addressing the underlying causes of low self-esteem and developing more adaptive strategies for managing emotions.

For further information on how hypnotherapy can deal with negative emotions and boost weight loss please see my weight loss page below.

 

https://www.healingmindshypnotherapy.co.uk/weight-loss/

 

 

If you would like to try hypnotherapy to help you deal with weight loss, stress, anxiety or depression, and build up resilience, please click the link below.

Lindsay xxx