Hi there, for today I have a question about creating a more successful relationship with food. Yes, I’m trying to lose a bit of weight, but I recognize this as a benefit of the former; what I want most is to stop my emotional eating and reach freedom from my thoughts around food.

I think that my difficulty (controlling cravings, evening bingeing, etc) comes from 2 things:

1) I’m an emotional eater. I’m in my 40s, currently single, and childless; I’ve moved to a new city recently and am struggling to create a friend-base. Hence, I feel lonely much of the time, and somewhat understimulated by life. I deal with these things by eating, which results in chaos in my soul and fat on my body.
2) I do shiftwork. There’s no pattern to my shifts – they can start at any time of day, any day of the week – and so I’m chronically fatigued; fatigue plays a HUGE role in my eating behaviours (I have decision fatigue; I look for sources of energy or distraction, etc). Furthermore, I haven’t found a way to practice consistent Intermittent Fasting with such a variable sleep & eating schedule. I like my work and won’t be changing it anytime soon.

I would love to better learn thought/feeling/self management skills so that I can release my dependence on food within my current/future life context.

Thank you!