2 mins

I am an emotional eater, how can therapy help me?

Video Description

Clinical psychologist Steven Mahan explores when ‘comfort eating’ (as a way of coping with difficult emotions) gets out of hand and becomes a problem – and what you can do about it. https://www.thechelseapsychologyclinic.com Chelsea Psychology Clinic are a group of London psychologists and psychiatrists offering private psychological therapy and psychiatry treatment from their premises across central London and Chelsea. The private therapy sessions cover the following areas: – Acceptance & Commitment Therapy – Cognitive Analytic Therapy – Cognitive-behavioural Therapy – Couples Therapy – Dialectical-behaviour Therapy – Mentalisation Based Treatment – Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy – Schema Therapy

Video Transcription

Our relation with food is quite complex. So it can be used as a treat, such as Christmas and birthdays. It can be used as a way of sustaining our lives, such as, you know, just to, basically, survive. But for many people, they use food as a way of coping with difficult emotions. And the most commonly used term for this is “comfort eating.” But comfort eating can become problematic. If you use it as a way of coping with you emotions every time you experience anything negative, such as anxiety or low mood, you turn to food to cope, it can then lead to obesity, or low self-esteem if you do gain weight. And it could also lead to a number of health conditions as well, such as diabetes, heart disease. So, someone who comfort eats although in isolation it might not be too problematic, if you’re using it all the time to cope with your emotions, that’s when it can become quite complex. And you might need a therapy to help you to come up with alternative ways of soothing your emotions than with food, such as relaxation, engaging in other activities that you enjoy, speaking to a friend, and so on.

Dr Steven Mahan

Dr Steven Mahan

19 June 2022

"Dr Steven Mahan is a Clinical Psychologist with many years’ experience in both the NHS and private sector. He specialises in adult mental health and has worked with clients of all ages with a wide range of emotional difficulties including depression, anxiety, personality disorders, trauma, social anxiety, eating disorders, work-related stress, health anxiety, and substance misuse. Throughout his career, Dr Mahan has gained extensive experience working with clients with relationship and interpersonal difficulties. "

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Dr Stacie Tay

Dr Stacie Tay attained her BSc (Hons) Psychology at the University of Nottingham and worked as a psychologist at the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, before returning to the UK to complete her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University College London.   

Dr Tay has worked in a variety of settings within the NHS for more than eight years, including primary and secondary care, specialist psychological services and forensic inpatient settings. She currently works as a Clinical Psychologist at the North East London Foundation Trust.  

She has extensive experience working with individuals and groups, providing evidence-based psychological therapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Mindfulness-based approaches as well as Schema-informed therapy.   

Dr Tay’s clinical experience involves working with people who present with a range of mild to severe mental health difficulties. This includes depression, anxiety (OCD, social anxiety, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, health anxiety, phobia-related disorders, PTSD), stress related issues, low self-esteem, complex trauma, interpersonal difficulties, grief and bereavement, and long-term health conditions.