Do you overeat under stress?

When we’re overwhelmed by stress or pain, our minds and bodies, in their wisdom, look for ways to care for us, to bring us back to a place of functioning, calm, and ease. As relational beings, we look for places of safety and ‘holding’ where we can let down and receive support.

But sometimes we don’t have places where we can receive emotional support – either internally or externally. Sometimes reaching out to others for help feels too vulnerable, or we feel too shy.

And many of our cultures, with a focus on individualism, achievement, and self reliance, shame our emotional and relational needs. This can create an inner conflict where we feel shame about needing or asking for support.

When this happens, our drive for connection doesn’t go away. Instead, it morphs, like a shape shifter. We look for connection substitutes – like food. We look to food as a mother – a place where we can let down and receive care, soothing and relief.

How food becomes a mother

In this four part email course, you’ll learn why we bond with food: how food becomes a refuge when we’re overwhelmed by stress, fear or pain. With this understanding, we feel greater compassion and understanding for the ways we’ve gotten stuck in food. And with this understanding, the way out of painful ‘food stuff’ becomes more doable, and clear.