9 Healthy Ways to Process Stress and Emotions Without Food or Alcohol

We have all struggled with this at one point or another... 

Emotional Eating! 

Am I right? 

Now is the time to KICK emotional eating to the curb for good. 

Eating simply because you feel upset, or worried, or stressed, or bored, is something that affects MANY of us at times, myself included! So before it happens to you again, check out these 9 ways to process and feel emotions and stress without resorting to food or alcohol: 

1. Take 5 slow, deep breathes. Slowing down and focusing on your breathing helps you to be more present, and allows your prefrontal cortex to make decisions. Like am I really hungry or am I just stressed?

2. Call a loved one. Talking to someone about my emotions and stressors always helps me feel better. Letting it out is a healthy way to process it and find the root cause. 

3. Listen to your favorite music. Whether it’s calming classical music or heavy rap, listen to one or two of your favorite songs when you’re feeling stressed or emotional. 

4. Unless you’re feeling true physical hunger, food/alcohol WON’T “fix” the root cause of your stress or emotions. In fact, chances are you’ll end up feeling worse about yourself after you stress eat because you may regret your choices. 

5. Scream, cry, and simply FEEL your feelings. Nobody enjoys feeling upset or stressed, so we try to find quick fixes to make us happy. Instead of looking for that instant gratification that food provides, allow yourself to FEEL and PROCESS whatever is bothering you so you can move on.

6. Take 5 minutes to journal. Writing about your feelings is a great way to process them. It's also healing to look back and see how far you have come in areas of your life that have caused your stress. 

7. Complete a task that you find enjoyable. Whether it’s painting, or reading, or playing a game on your phone, spend a few minutes doing a task that makes you happy. 

8. List 5 things you’re grateful for. No matter how rough life gets or how upset we may feel, focusing on gratitude helps you find the positive in your situation and puts life in perspective. 

9. Take a quick walk (outdoors if possible). Research suggests that walking outside helps clear your mind AND helps process those not-so-pleasant emotions. 

Have you found other ways to process stress or emotions without eating? Whatever it is that works for you, is great as long as we are processing the emotions without simply turning to food.