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When you’re stressed or upset, do you find yourself eating more or eating without even realizing you’re doing so? If so, you have emotional hunger. And, if you’re like many people this hunger can be soothed by the nearest jelly doughnut. In this podcast, I cover how to stop emotional eating. What is Emotional Eating? Emotional eating occurs when we eat to tame negative emotions. We use food for many things besides nourishment. We also use it as a way to relieve boredom, stress, sadness and anxiety. This feels satisfying. That’s why it’s so hard to stop. Partially because the brain craves fatty and sugar-laden foods when we’re stressed. The problem: Food provides short-term gratification. The feelings always come back, sometimes with a vengeance. Eating to heal emotional pain doesn’t solve the problem. How to Stop Emotional Eating Discover your triggers. Keep a food and emotion diary for a week. Or, ask yourself one question before eating: What’s eating me? More tips on overcoming emotional eating: * Be aware of your emotions. Go through a mental checklist, before you eat, snack, or drink. Ask yourself these two questions: What kind of mood am I in? Am I really hungry? * Stay away from the television. Food advertisements can play with your head. This makes you not only think more about food but also increase your desire to eat. What’s more, television may feed insecurities. * Induce positive emotions. This is not dismissing negative emotions. Shifting to a more positive mood ease emotional eating. This includes activities like: exercising for 20 minutes, watching a funny movie, and talking with supportive friends. Want more information about emotional eating? Check out these resources. Emotional Eating Test (Psychology Today)  Our Moods, Our Foods (The Atlantic) Weight loss: Gain control of emotional eating (Mayo Clinic)

Have you ever noticed that what you focus on grows? If you focus on those things that tick you off, you may not notice the good stuff that may be going on in your life. And vice versa. Change Your Focus So what you do? This quick and sweet podcast will focus on a three-step process.  The first step is awareness.  How are you feeling at the moment? The next two steps involve reframing your focus by asking two questions: * Is there another way to see this? * What is the best thing I can focus on? Here are more resources on shifting your focus to better things: Undivided Attention: 6 Ways to Focus That Will Make You Happier (Time) Why attention might be the key to happiness (The Week) Improve How You Feel by Changing Your Attention (Psychology Today)

It’s not hard to dip into a bad mood. Unfortunately, your bad mood may not be limited to yourself. The rule of thumb is that your emotions can leap from you to up to three other people. This podcast discusses how to prevent someone’s bad mood from influencing you and how to spread positive emotions to others. Learn how to handle emotional contagion with two steps. The first step is to deal with negativity. The second is to make a conscious effort to spread positivity to others. Need more information about emotional contagion, spreading positivity and preventing negativity from ruining your day? Check out these resources: Kindness Ideas from The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation Understanding ‘Emotional Contagion’ And How To Stop It In Its Tracks (The Huffington Post) 5 Ways to Break a Downward Spiral (Oprah)