Emotional eating experiences of individuals with severe mental disorders: A qualitative study

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to understand the emotional eating experiences of individuals with severe mental disorders. Design and Methods:The study used a descriptive qualitative design. Data were collected from 19 individuals who displayed emotional eating behavior and a severe mental disorder. Findings:The main themes of this study are "Triggers," "Emotional Eating Process," and "Feelings after Emotional Eating." Participants stated that negative emotions and certain initiating factors were the triggers of their emotional eating; they also experienced feelings of regret and guilt after emotional eating.Practice Implications: It was concluded that programs for regulating the eating behaviors of individuals with severe mental disorders should be organized and that psychosocial interventions to prevent emotional eating among these individuals should be integrated into the programs' contents.

Phenomenological support for escape theory: a qualitative study using explicitation interviews with emotional eaters

“…Other research has relied on qualitative methodology to provide first-person subjective data on emotional eating. For example, Tuncer and Duman [ 55 ] used a descriptive qualitative design to find that negative emotions acted as triggers for overeating that led to the experience of positive emotions but also a loss of control. Similarly, Wehling and Lusher [ 65 ] conducted semi-structured interviews with individuals either at a healthy weight range or above to find that participants’ relationship with food was emotionally charged and that links between dieting and negative thinking fostered unhealthy eating patterns.…”