Here is more information on what that means.
What and How Taking a Pause Helps with Emotional Eating
What Does it Mean to Take a Pause?
The pause related to emotional eating is exactly what it sounds like – a literal pause before you make any decisions. The reason you take a break is that what often happens with emotional eating is that you deal with negative emotions, boredom, or stress and immediately have the urge to order or eat something that isn’t always the healthiest option.
Now there is nothing wrong with emotional eating to help soothe you, but it can be a problem when it is the only coping skill you have. With the pause, you can just sit with your emotions for a few minutes before deciding if you want that food or if you are just looking to feel better temporarily.
What Should You Be Doing During This Time?
When you decide to pause before you take any action, like ordering food or grabbing the box of ice cream in your freezer, you just want to sit quietly with your emotions.
That’s all you have to do.
Don’t make any other choices for the time being. Sit there and analyse how you are feeling.
- Did something specific cause this urge?
- Did a stressful event happen?
- Did you talk to someone who made you upset?
- Did you see something that triggered you?
You may also want to write down how you feel to better prepare for it the next time. Sometimes, you have it in your head you need pizza, so even after the pause, you will still order the pizza. But it is still good to be aware of it.
Why is it Helpful?
The pause comes in handy because it lets you see if the instinct to eat something off your meal plan was because of how you were feeling or from actual hunger or a craving. The more you pause before taking immediate action and writing down what you were experiencing, the more you can avoid this tendency and find other ways to cope with your emotions.