We all must have indulged in satisfying our food cravings sometime or the other. However, some of us cannot resist the urge for comfort food and indulge in it more than often. In most cases, it develops a consistent pattern wherein as soon as we feel low, experience loneliness, or boredom, we reach out to food as a source of comfort and even safety.
In this blog, we speak of the struggles of compulsive eaters who have lost control over their eating habits, and how Hypnotherapy for Comfort Eating can help in breaking out of the vicious cycle.
At the root of comfort, eating is always the underlying problem of “Emotional Hunger.” People overeat to get over their negative feelings & emotions. However, the comfort feeling doesn’t last long even after they stuff themselves with a copious amount of food. The emotional triggers that got them to eat in the first place are still lurking in their minds.
The problem has a compounding effect after the eating binge as the same negative feeling turn to feelings of guilt and self-hatred. Ironically, the person undergoing this emotional turmoil continues to indulge in the same eating behavior.
It is a vicious cycle where there a compulsive urge to eat is immediately followed by feelings of self-hatred and a profound degree of shame. The crux of the problem lies in the mind which primarily triggers anxiety followed by negative emotions which makes the whole situation unbearable and makes the individual turn to food for solace.
In all such cases, food only fulfills to be a source of distraction for the most limited amount of time, after which the same negative feelings come flooding into the mind.
The therapist primarily uses psychotherapy initially to understand your lifestyle, beliefs, and life events that have brought to the current situation. It gives the therapist good clarity on the personality of the individual and what route to take in dealing with the problem the individual has
The therapist primarily uses psychotherapy initially to understand your lifestyle, beliefs, and life events that have brought to the current situation. It gives the therapist good clarity on the personality of the individual and what route to take in dealing with the problem the individual has
The therapist aims to change the deeply entrenched thought patterns which got embedded in the individual in their childhood, we replace their limiting beliefs with more positive and empowering ones.
Post therapy, the individual would no longer have the same association with food as before and food would be consumed for sustenance and not indulgence.
In some cases, where the problem is more persistent. We may use a technique that is a subset of hypnotherapy called “Parts Therapy.” In this therapy, the understanding is that our mind especially the subconscious consists of various parts. Without even knowing, we carry a conflicting set of voices within ourselves.
In cases, where the individual struggles with compulsive eating, multiple voices create conflict in the mind and the negative voices prevail most often to dictate behaviour. In this case, the person will become prone to binge eating.
The therapist induces hypnosis and gets across to these conflicting inner voices with an objective tone. They listen to both negative and positive voices and start the process of resolution between different parts of the psyche. We seek to bring inner harmony and integration to the different parts of the mind and bring lasting changes in the person.
This positive change will ensure that the person no longer indulges in self-sabotaging behaviours and feel complete indifference to unnecessary food. They will become much more mindful when comes to any situations, especially when dealing with stress.
Now we look at the case of Benjamin. He tends to comfort eat as soon as there is an emotional trigger and cannot stop himself. He mentioned that he did not have a happy childhood. His father was rather unpredictable and short-tempered and his mother always ensured he had enough to eat. Giving him food was a way of showering her attention on him. Growing in this toxic environment made him acquire various unhealthy behaviours associated with food. Benjamin was in a stressful work environment and had too many disappointments happening in life on various fronts.
On knowing Benjamin’s situation, our Hypnotherapist decided on using Parts therapy to remedy his problems associated with food in one of the sessions.
We induced hypnotherapy and got in touch with the conflicting voices. The voices majorly consisted of two parts – one part that used food for comfort, and another part that wanted to make a change. We found that the part that developed food as the source of support & safety was a behavior that he acquired very early in childhood. This continued into adulthood where he reached out to food as soon as he felt upset or needed attention from his mother.
While there was always another part of his mind that called for living with a purpose and got excited with the immense possibilities’ life had to offer.
We as therapist played the role of mediator in bringing different parts of his mind forward, so that they could understand each other. Also by bringing his “Higher Self” forward, both parts were brought to a resolution to stop using food as an escape.
More importantly, Benjamin could also easily let go of self-pity and self-criticism, and acknowledge that he can develop self-love for himself. This way the inner conflicts came to a resolution and Benjamin learned to accept himself more, the way he was with confidence.
And he also reported that he no longer felt any food cravings after the session.
Hypnotherapy is a psychological intervention has been established as a scientific fact. It works on the same principles of changing mindsets as a long-term solution to problems. We at “Make it Happen Hypnotherapy has helped many individuals in bringing that all-important positive change in mindset.
Looking for Hypnotherapy for Comfort Eating in Brisbane? Book a session with us today!
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Registered Address: Suite 1, 2 Benson Street, Benson House, Toowong, Brisbane, QLD, 4066 Australia
Our Clinical Hypnotherapists will guide you into a state of trance similar to daydreaming. By working with your subconscious mind, we will find out the underlying causes of your emotional suffering, and establish desired outcomes for you. To achieve this, we will use various techniques like Inner Child Therapy, Regression, Parts Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Rewind Technique, and more.
