Workshop on Eating and Anxiety

Facilitated by Dr. Bill Picon

Saturdays in July – 12:30-2:00pm
July 6, July 13, July 2o, and July 27 (4 consecutive weeks)

Anxiety is a biological and psychological response to perceived or anticipated danger. It is a signal of “dis-ease” that is felt physically and registered mentally, indicating that something is not right and demands attention. Given that we are biologically hard-wired for survival, this emotional signal of danger urgently disrupts our focus and and attention to thoughtful behaviors.

Anxiety also stands out as perhaps the most pervasive trigger for emotional eating.

It makes sense that would be true because so many of us find that eating comforts and soothes us in such familiar and easy ways. Eating can restore the sense of ease or feeling of well-being that escapes us when we are anxious. Anxiety-based emotional eating is often called “stress eating” or “comfort eating.”

While this sort of emotional eating is commonplace and normal for everyone, for people who need to consciously regulate eating, it is helpful to learn how to systematically manage your stress and comfort eating.

Is this you? Do you need to better understand your anxiety and stress/comfort eating in order to support your weight management efforts? Do you need to develop a more systematic approach to this aspect of weight management? If so, please consider this next workshop.

As a participant, you will learn about your specific anxiety eating, as well as your general approach to managing anxiety. You will be guided to interesting readings and have the opportunity to learn new approaches that will take some of the pressure off of eating for anxiety regulation. Some of the approaches will include techniques for chronic, generalized anxiety – such as meditation, relaxation, mindfulness and breathing; others will focus on methods for addressing underlying anxiety stressors for resolution of acute anxiety.

Please contact us for more information or to sign up.