44: Are You an Emotional Eater? Schemas and Food, Part 1

• Gemma Gladstone
• March 3, 2022

Welcome to another episode of The Good Mood Clinic Podcast!
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 ***Trigger Warning:  This podcast discusses the issue of emotional eating *****

Content in this podcast in no way constitutes medical or nutritional advice.  This episode does not constitute, nor is it intended to be, psychological (or other) advice for those people who have struggled with a serious eating problem or eating disorder in the past or currently.   

Dear Listeners:-
Please note that in this episode we share our personal experience with food, food choices and schemas and we discuss things like ’emotional eating’ and ‘comfort food’.  Struggles with food, especially ‘stress eating’ and using food as an emotional comfort, are very common in our society.   However, please remember that we are all very unique, beautiful individuals who are on our own journey in this life and we all face our own particular issues & struggles. 

What is our intention with this episode and others like it?
Please know that we do put a little thought into our episodes and we want only the best for you!  With these discussions on food and schemas we have a few intentions.  The main one being, that we hope to normalise the struggle with food that so many people experience.  One of our aims with our podcast in general is to be real and honest and also provide people with hope and empowerment as well as destigmatizing mental health issues and unhelpful mental health labels. 

This food series is about looking at the ways our schemas and modes can pose a barrier and can sabotage our health-based decisions and choices.  We are not giving advice about what to do, rather, we are providing a discussion around the role schemas and parts of self can play when we attempt to make health-based decisions for ourselves.   It can be valuable to look through the issue with a schema lens and help name certain parts of ourselves and the role they play.

Please note:

1. We are not “fat shaming” ourselves or anyone else.  But we are talking about a serious and unfortunately sometimes very contentious issue – food and eating.  There are many opinions which exist in the field.  Some helpful, some unhelpful.
2. We are not promoting unhealthy “dieting”  or “restrictive eating”.   
3. We are interested in the promotion of health, self-care, body-care, courageous acts of facing ‘what is’,  including unhealthy behaviour patterns; mindful self-compassion and schema and schema mode awareness. 
4. We do talk about what has worked for us in the past and make mention to the types of food we find problematic and those we wish to we limit.  
5. It is our hope that by sharing some of our own personal journey on the subject we can provide some insight into the psychological factors which drive ’emotional eating’ in those without severe eating disorders. 
6. We do like to have a laugh and use humour and we can also be irreverent sometimes!  
7. The podcast is for information & entertainment purposes. 

We hope you enjoy this series.  

Show Highlights:

• Why do Gemma and Justine want to change their relationship with food?
• Gemma talks about her struggles with stress eating and explains why she wants to overcome them.
• There is a difference between having compassionate firmness and a healthy parent approach in your mind to your issues and being punitive and nasty to yourself.
• Gemma remembers how her emotional eating patterns began when she was in her twenties.
• We have an old and primitive relationship with food and there are many endorphins linked to the feeding process. That is why our food issues tend to run deep and have many psychological layers.
• There is a big difference between having knowledge and implementing decisions based on that knowledge daily for your health and longevity.
• Justine’s emotional eating began when she was a child and escalated as the commitments in her life increased. 
• Having a quick dopamine hit in the form of something sweet brings Justine instant but short-lived relief from stress-related tension.
• Justine loves to read with a cup of tea and a bar of chocolate. She tends to do that much too often because it is an easy reward for her busy life.
• When she rushes around, Justine tends to lose touch with the reality of where she is at and thinks she can eat whatever she wants.
• Justine conceptualizes the voice in her head that encourages her to eat chocolate at night in schema-speak.
• Gemma talks about the health-based challenge in which she is involved.
• It is vital to keep your long-term goals in mind- even in vulnerable moments.

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