02 Jun Struggling with Comfort Eating? You’re Not Alone.
If you’re searching for a therapist for comfort eating, you may already feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and stuck in a cycle that feels impossible to break. You might eat in secret, feel out of control around food, and be trapped in a shame spiral afterward. The good news? You’re not broken—and you’re not alone.
As my father pointed out in my teens as I shovelled in sweet after sweet, I hold the record for eating a packet of fruit pastels in a matter of seconds! This skill was not limited to sweets, it worked the same for biscuits, ice cream, chocolates, crisps, all the stuff to moderate, and it didn’t matter if they were mine or not.
With a bowl of complimentary ‘goodies’ in the same room, it would take all my willpower not to devour the lot. My mindset was one of gluttony, a need to keep the flavour/textures present without pause, then after would follow shame and embarrassment at my greed and lack of self-control.
I sought a therapist for comfort eating and using a combination of hypnotherapy, Inner Child Healing and EFT I was able to get a grasp on my comfort eating and gain a level of self-control, to break the cycle.
As a trauma-informed hypnotherapist and coach, I offer a different approach that goes beyond willpower or rigid diets. We get to the root of why you’re comfort eating.
When does comfort eating become a problem?
- When it leads to overwhelming feelings of self-loathing and shame
- When it’s done in secret
- When it feels out of control, and the compulsion leads to socially unacceptable actions
- When there’s obesity, there are physical health risks
Comfort Eating and Parenting
Messages from childhood, that ingrain into our subconscious, often from well-meaning parents can encourage binge eating behaviours. Whether it’s rewarding good behaviours with food, suppressing feelings with food, eating in front of screens, (without conscious awareness) or simply modelling the habits of parents, our relationship with food is formed subconsciously. Maybe you were given food or ‘treats’ to compensate for a parents emotional/physical absence, or perhaps you heard comments like these…
“Finish all the food on your plate.”
“Eat all your dinner, then you can have a dessert.”
“Don’t be upset. Shall we get you an ice-cream?”
“Stop your crying then you can have a pack of sweets.”
“If you’re good, you can have a Macdonalds.”
Working with the subconscious we can undo any unhelpful beliefs around food, allowing a healthier relationship which for organically facilitates better food choices removing comfort or binge eating behaviours.
Is Neurodivergence Playing a Role?
Many of my clients are discovering or considering they’re neurodivergent (myself, included) —often undiagnosed or late-diagnosed with ADHD and/or autism. Comfort eating can sometimes be a coping strategy for:
- Sensory seeking or emotional regulation
- Masking exhaustion or burnout
- Dopamine-seeking behaviours
- Stimming through food textures or rituals
If you’re ND, traditional approaches to eating disorders may not fully work for you. That’s why as a therapist for comfort eating I tailor my support to honour your unique brain and body.
How Hypnotherapy Can Help
Hypnotherapy helps uncover and rewire unconscious patterns, calm the nervous system, and create space between urge and action. My sessions integrate coaching, subconscious work, and practical tools to support long-term change.
6 Practical Tips to Start Easing Comfort Eating Urges:
- Pause and breathe before eating—name the emotion
- Drink a glass of water before you eat
- Keep a food and feeling journal (no calorie counting)
- Build in non-food stims like fidget toys or textures
- Eat regularly to avoid restriction-triggered binges
- Get curious, not critical, about your patterns
Ready to Break Free?
You don’t have to do this alone. If you’re looking for a compassionate, non-judgemental therapist for comfort eating who understands trauma, neurodivergence, and emotional regulation— contact me directly here – https://rebeccadakin.com/contact-me/
Or request a call here; https://calendly.com/clarity-call
Here’s another blog post, ‘How to lose weight without diets’ https://rebeccadakin.com/