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Healing the Root Cause of Emotional Eating

Writer's picture: Helen PleicHelen Pleic

Have you ever found yourself in cycles of eating uncontrollably or when you’re not hungry, only to feel guilty afterward?


This behavior isn’t about a lack of discipline; it’s emotional eating—suppressed uncomfortable emotions and unacknowledged stories soothed with food, this is a subconscious pattern.


If you’ve tried dieting, calorie or macro counting, or exercise programs that create food phobias that control your life, there’s nothing wrong with you.


The methods you’ve used do not address the real problem.


The truth is, consistently eating healthy, nutritious food starts by addressing the root cause of what’s driving your cravings for—let’s face it—highly processed, addictive, ingredients packaged as food.



The Hidden Link Between Trauma and Emotional Eating

I’ve worked with countless clients who’ve feared the scale, felt stuck in patterns of dieting, bingeing, late-night eating, achieving fleeting success, only to start all over again.


I’ve been there too—obsessing over weighing food or counting almonds just to hit a number on the scale, which only created a fear of carbs and led to over-exercising.


These behaviors are often attempts to ‘just’ feel better. When a situation causes you to feel something deeper, and you don’t know what to do, turning to food becomes an action that soothes the itch, which in your mind = solution.


But true freedom does not come from focusing on the symptoms, it comes when you address the root cause. It is a simple process when you know what to do and follow the right sequence; at times, it may not be easy. Freedom comes when you address the confusion of why the emotions are still there.


Nurturing Healthy Habits: Addressing Emotional Eating from the Start.
Nurturing Healthy Habits: Addressing Emotional Eating from the Start.

Here are some recurring stories and themes I’ve observed with my clients for eating and weight issues. Whenever there is an over-identification with food or too many messages around food, there is confusion and unprocessed emotion. How many of these resonate with you?


  • Food was central to identity, tradition, or connection. Was it the focal point of social activities?

  • Were you encouraged to eat beyond hunger or given food when you were bored and not hungry?

  • Did you have an exceptional cook or baker in your family, with meals that were indulgent, large, or included an abundance of treats?

  • Were meals a calm, happy time for family connection compared to other moments?

  • Were treats hidden, making the hunt exciting and satisfying?


How families handle emotions also plays a part:

  • Were family members stoic, strict, in survival mode, or dismissive of emotions?

  • Was there pressure to achieve or be strong?

  • Were certain emotions praised while others were deemed soft or weak and dismissed?



As does how you were compared to other kids your age physically:

  • Was your body seen as different, and were you aware of it?

  • Did food or exercise become a publicly discussed topic just for you?

  • Did you overhear comments about your size?

  • Were you one of the largest in your class?

  • Were you inappropriately looked at, touched or bullied?


All of these could have influenced your relationship with your emotions and food.



The Weight of Emotions and Unprocessed Trauma

One of the most eye-opening studies on weight is the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. This study, conducted between 1995 and 1997, involved over 17,000 participants who completed surveys about their childhood experiences and current health status. Many participants had success losing weight, only to return later, having gained even more.

The study revealed how childhood circumstances—neglect, instability, and trauma—impact health. Weight, for many, was an unconscious survival strategy.


The study showed:

  • Weight is only a symptom of something deeper.

  • When you only treat the symptom, the problem will always come back.


When we address the root causes of symptoms, true transformation becomes possible.


Why Diets Fail

Diets fail because they focus on food without addressing the root causes uncovered by the ACE Study.


Families that lacked emotional maturity or experienced neglect, instability, or abuse create confusion for the mind and body. When you cannot escape a situation or express yourself, weight becomes a survival strategy—a way to protect oneself physically, emotionally, or mentally. From this perspective, weight gain isn’t failure; it’s survival success, the mind’s safety mechanism.


As humans, we are wired to adapt to our environments and the people in them. From an early age, we unconsciously create habits to navigate life. It could be as simple and innocent as: I see my parents stressed, and I do not want to add to their burdens because I might get in trouble. These patterns are energy-efficient, serving as survival mechanisms, and will persist well into adulthood until addressed at a subconscious level.


This is why the advice to “change your lifestyle and change your friends” is impactful. Our environments and connections influence us deeply and unconsciously. Surrounding yourself with supportive people and changing your environments can create powerful shifts—but this can take time to achieve.


What can you do when you can’t change everyone in your life to support your goal?


Ultimately, the quickest way to create change is to take control yourself. Be curious about the people, industries, and systems around you.

Ask yourself:

  • How do my struggles make me belong and connect to the people I have in my life?

  • Who profits from my struggles?


Booming Weight Loss Industry

We live in a culture of instant fixes, driven by technology that feeds our dopamine addiction. Fundamentals like sustainable health are overlooked in favor of new trends that track metrics designed to control you through disconnection from your instincts and emotions—like the number on a scale or steps taken.


Modern solutions for weight management: Diet pills and injections, focusing on the quick fix approach.
Modern solutions for weight management: Diet pills and injections, focusing on the quick fix approach.

This is evidenced by a $142 billion weight management market projected to double by 2030. Treatments like Ozempic and Wegovy (Sources: Reuters, Forbes) offer almost instant visual results, focusing on scale numbers rather than true health indicators like vitality, energy, muscle mass, and mobility. While recent side effects of these drugs are being discussed by a small handful of holistic doctors, initial marketing focused on quick fixes—tapping into excitement and relief to lay the foundation for temporary solutions.


Industries thrive on providing solutions to symptoms. They use neuro-marketing and emotional recognition technology to make products more desirable, capitalizing on emotional triggers.


Real, sustainable change is not a sexy marketing pitch and doesn’t come from willpower alone. It requires emotional intelligence—addressing the emotions driving the behavior. Feeling sad, bored, or lonely often leads to self-soothing with food as the coping mechanism.


Breaking the Cycle of Emotional Eating

For me, studying RTT (Rapid Transformational Therapy) and helping others had an unexpected byproduct: I released old emotions. During my RTT training to become a clinical hypnotherapist, I went nine months without eating chocolate—not because I was restricting myself, it just happened. The chocolate just sat in the fridge, ignored and untouched, where it used to be the first thing I reached for.


This healing process that I have seen work time and again has taught me that emotions that are not expressed can accumulate and drive unwanted behaviors, especially when you are stressed. Weight and eating problems are not solved by lifelong dieting or calorie counting. It requires:

  1. Releasing Old Emotions: Unprocessed emotions must be acknowledged and let go.

  2. Evolving Your Identity: Building a primary sense of self that isn’t tied to body image or food.

  3. Shifting Language and Mindset: Changing how you speak about food, emotions, and yourself.

  4. Skills: Learning how to navigate situations to your advantage.



Steps to Recovery

Healing emotional eating is a process, not a quick fix. Here are some key steps:

  1. Embrace Real Food: Shift from processed, engineered, addictive foods to real, nourishing options. Track the ratio of real food you eat compared to processed food, target 85% real whole foods.

  2. Feel Your Feelings: Allow yourself to cry, express anger, or feel joy without judgment.

  3. Reconnect with Your Body: Use mindfulness, gentle movement, or deep breathing to tune into your physical needs.

  4. Address Root Causes: Work with a therapist or coach to release past traumas.

  5. Track Progress Beyond Weight: Focus on metrics like energy levels, mobility, and emotional well-being.


Final Thoughts

Life is a long journey fueled by the food you eat. Three meals a day equals over 1,100 meals a year. Isn’t it worth your while to create foundations that serve your energy and long-term health?


It’s not about a diet; it’s about progress. Real food, quality over quantity—wouldn’t you want everyone, especially children, to be taught this from a young age? To return to intuitive eating and emotional expression before these instincts were modified.


You deserve to feel great. If you’re ready to take the first step toward real, sustainable change, book now.

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