Does therapy really help with eating issues?

[GoDawgs 0]

I'm an emotional eater. I've gained 68 pounds in the two years I've been in law school. This is the quickest I have ever gained weight, and it's because this is the most stressful situation I've ever been in and I eat for comfort.

How many of you see a therapist/psychologist to help you control your eating? I went to a psychologist when I was in high school for an issue not related to my weight (my parents made me go) and I was really uncomfortable and wouldn't talk. The idea of going to a therapist and talking about such personal issues kind of freaks me out, but if it is something that a lot of people benefit from and if it might help me learn to eat healthy, I'm willing to give it a try.

Plus, I also have issues will my self esteem, as well as with my mom (the issues mentioned in my other post).

I guess I'm just not sold on the idea that someone else will be able to help me resolve these issues, so I'd like to hear about other people's experience with therapy.

[donali 57]

Therapy really helped me. It was a program specifically geared to compulsive overeating, and the therapist was a licensed dietician and hypnotherapist, as well as having gone through the program herself and maintaining her loss of 40 pounds.

For me the regain of my self-esteem and the revelations and tools I was helped to develop to manage my emotional eating were invaluable - probably even more important to my well-being than the band itself (which I got 7-8 months after my therapy program ended).

You can read some more in depth stuff about the kinds of things I learned here: A Tool for Dealing with Emotional Hunger

I probably have more self-help books/videos/tapes than most libraries/book stores, but I find it VERY difficult to effect changes alone (I'm embarassed to admit that most of these books/videos/tapes have never been opened/used - kind of like all my exercise equipment... lol). I personally needed the accountability to, commitment to, and interaction with another person who could lead me from where I was and take me to where I wanted to go with my full participation.

If you decide therapy is for you, I would highly encourage you to seek someone who specializes specifically in weight related issues.

Good luck!