From the moment we are born food and emotions are intertwined. We get fed milk while being held and enjoy connection at the family table. But as time marches on, food can all too easily be used as a way to distract us from difficult emotions or fill an emotional void. This results in dysregulated eating -- eating too much or too little, and spending way too much time thinking about food and weight.
The problem is our quick-fix culture searches for answers by making up food rules, tightly controlling goodies, or to simply “thinking positive.” Our expert today says it takes both a mindful eating approach and tuning in to our emotions to get back to what she calls "normal eating."
On episode 18 of The Healthy Family Podcast we have on Karen R. Koenig, LCSW, M.Ed., licensed psychotherapist specializing in the field of compulsive, emotional and restrictive eating. She is co-founder of the Greater Boston Collaborative for Body Image and Eating Disorders and a former member of the Professional Advisory Committee of the Multi-service Eating Disorder Association of Massachusetts. She is author of several books including The Rules of "Normal" Eating, Outsmarting Overeating and The Food and Feelings Workbook.
She will forever change the way you see food and emotions, and that’s a good thing.