Being on the other side of a challenging life changing event can feel destabilizing. After a period of new levels of anxiety or depression symptoms, you don’t trust feeling good. The truth is that you’re no longer used to feeling positive.

You might feel foolish for not immediately embracing the good, but this lack of trust is much more common than you think! Below we’ve outlined the three stages you can expect when you’ve done the work to move through big emotions and negative experiences.

Step One: You Can’t Believe It

At some point in your recovery, you will notice a subtle shift. It might be in a therapy session when you realize you’re talking about your experiences differently or it might be a moment during your day where you think or react differently than you would in the past. This might be accompanied by a rush of gratitude: you’ve made a change and are “on the other side.”

This will likely be immediately followed by mentally shutting down recognizing (or celebrating!) thi...

Here at the Center for Emotional Eating we know that a restrictive diet is not a solution to anything: weight loss, peace of mind, fitting in. We’re not about restricting, but embracing (and eating!) the foods we like and make us feel our best.

So, what happens when there is a need to change your eating? Maybe you’ve developed a new food allergy or heartburn after eating certain foods. Maybe a bout of food poisoning or the flu means you just can’t face eating a specific item again. And did you know our taste buds change as we age? The meals and foods you’ve always relied on might not be as satisfying anymore. And satisfaction is key to avoiding binge eating!

Wanting to avoid these negative outcomes is perfectly human! But if you’ve been on the diet wagon a lot in your life, you might feel like removing specific foods feels a lot like new restrictive rules.

We’re here to help! Try these two steps to navigate your changing tastes without feeling like you’re slogging through new dietin...

The restrictions from the pandemic has left many looking for a renewed sense of connection. Online get togethers got us through social distancing, but there seems to be a growing desire to meet up again in person.

You might be reading that and thinking “Not me! I thrived with more alone time”, and while that might be true (we all need opportunities to recharge) even introverts need a community they can tap into just as much as extroverts!

We’ve written before about how creating connection can help with feelings of loneliness (a major trigger for emotional eating), but getting a feeling of connection doesn’t have to mean a filled-to-the-brim calendar of social events. It is true that you can have a small circle of friends that you feel close to or be surrounded by many people and feel lonely. Connecting with others isn’t about the number of people you interact with or events you attend, it’s how it makes you feel! So, here are some ideas for you to try out in your own life to create c...

There may come a time on your journey where you feel like you want to explain how and why you emotionally eat to those you trust. You might feel in your gut that you would benefit from opening up and sharing your experiences. But emotional eating is complex, where should you even begin? We’ve got a number of concrete examples below to help guide you!

We want to be clear: you don’t have to explain or justify your feelings or actions to others. This post is intended to support those who feel like speaking about their experiences to someone they trust will help support them on their journey. Remember: no one gets to comment on your body (even if it is weight loss).

A good first step is to check in with your person and see if they have capacity for you to share. This can set the tone of your interaction by encouraging limiting distractions, finding a quiet space, and making sure they are in a good mental place to support you.

Start by explaining the link between emotions and food, that ...

We recently asked our followers what time of day they feel is the worst for their emotional eating. And an overwhelming number of you said night time. Know that you are not alone! It is incredibly common to have the evenings be a time where emotional or binge eating ramps up. And there are very good reasons why you overeat late at night, and none of them are because you’re “crazy” or “lack willpower.” Here are 5 common reasons emotional eating comes up at night and what you can do to address each one.

You ate how you “should” during the day. Restricting what and how much you eat throughout the day will ultimately lead to binge eating (even if you are trying to “reset” from your last binge!). Not only is your body asking for more food, it is asking for food that is pleasurable. At the end of the day, you’re left feeling hungry and unfulfilled.

• Solution: No matter what you ate the night before, start the next day off with a clean slate: have foods you enjoy all day or earlier in the
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The anniversary of the death of a loved one comes with its own unique challenges. Unlike birthdays or weddings, the day your loved one passed is a focal point for your grief and can bring all the feelings of loss right back to the surface. 

While you might expect the day to be difficult, you might find engaging in some sort of memorial—big or small—can be a lovely way to honour their memory and support your own mental health.

There are so many ways you can honour your loved one! To get you thinking about what might be helpful for you, here’s a list of 10 things you can do to remember your person. You can either choose to do something by yourself or with others—the choice is completely up to you and there is no right or wrong way to mourn.

1. Hold space to let out the emotions—cry, rage, whatever! Sometimes a sad playlist or movie will allow the tears to flow, other times you might want to sweat it out at the gym.
2. Visit their final resting place. Bring flowers, read a poem, or simpl
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There are so many different types of therapy, it can be overwhelming when you’re starting out. While there are definitely things to consider when choosing a therapist, identifying when a method of therapy isn’t working is a powerful way to make progress on your mental health journey.

What does it look like when therapy isn’t working for you? It is important to remember that your ‘aim’ in therapy can be a moving goal post. For example, you might start therapy to manage your depression but after dealing with the immediate symptoms you and your therapist might begin focusing on your childhood experiences that are informing your current behaviour. This is normal!

But you shouldn’t be leaving your sessions feeling frustrated. While a therapy ‘hangover’ is expected, you should feel at least slight relief at being heard and supported through a session. It can be helpful to journal or just jot down how you feel after a session to keep track of your progress and new coping tools you’ve learnt...

A non-diet approach can mean freedom from:

… food rules.

… an obsession with weight and body measurements.

… grueling workouts you hate.

… guilt and shame around what you choose to eat.

Sounds pretty good, right?! Our bodies are so much more than calories in/calories out. Even if you worked out and ate the exact same as your friend, you both would still look and feel different. In fact, a non-diet approach acknowledges that every person’s body is different and there is no one-size-fits-all way of eating or looking (the opposite of what diet culture wants you to think!).

A non-diet approach believes that every person is unique and that your body knows what it best for it—this goes for eating and movement. You might have come across terminology like “intuitive eating” or “mindful movement”, which is just a way of saying that you turn inwards to be aware of your own needs and bodily cues. For example, your cravings could reveal vitamin deficiencies or you might find certain movement...

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, will look a little different for everyone. But if you notice you’re more irritable, your sleeping or eating patterns have changed, or you’re more anxious or depressed, you might be experiencing SAD.

We’re sharing four things that can help you find a mood boost in the darkest, coldest days of winter. We recommend creating a list you can easily reference, either in a notebook or on your phone’s notes app, of things that make you feel good. Either take inspiration from the ideas below or brainstorm your own! Personalizing an approach to support yourself through the next few months is a great way to show yourself some love.

Support

This can come in many forms, like a regular coffee date with a friend, scheduled therapy sessions, or speaking to your doctor about medication. Consider who in your life makes you feel supported and tap into that! If you feel intimidated going to the doctor, read this blog post for a little confidence boost.

Hygiene

When...

Holiday movies and social media show us that the holiday season needs to be a certain level of perfect: everyone must be happy, your house must be spotless but also have decorations everywhere, and key memories have to be made. This is what is considered holiday perfectionism, when everything must be done to a certain level or else you feel stressed out, disappointed in yourself, or like a failure.

Women are especially susceptible to falling into the trap of holiday perfectionism because they constantly get messages from childhood to be everything to everyone. They are the ones to make the gift lists, do the shopping, the baking, coordinate the social calendars of spouses and kids. Plus, there is a gender stereotype that women need to be pleasant in the face of any scenario. It is exhausting!

Give yourself a break this year with these 4 tips to feel less stressed about achieving perfection this season:

• Take stock of what you can let go of. Consider what you think is expected of yo
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