Healing and Hypnotherapy Volume 4 Issue - 6, 1 December 2019 | Page 10

one sitting. They learned how to overeat or eat the “wrong” foods. And the
same dedication and persistence that went into learning how to overeat can
now, with your assistance be turned to unlearning the habit.
Future Posts will examine the rationale behind the use of hypnotherapy for
weight loss and will also consider specific applications. Stay tuned!
OVEREATING TRIGGERS
Eating is regulated by both physiological mechanisms and behavioural
processes. By learning how these interact, you can better understand the
forces that influence how you behave and thus assist in modifying
behaviour. Everyone is susceptible to some degree to the various cues to
eat. And people who are concerned about their weight, food or dieting
seem to be even more susceptible. Perhaps because they must deal
directly with hunger sensations, or because their dieting efforts heighten
their consciousness of food, dieters often experience more difficulty in
coping with cues to eat.
Even in the face of strong physiological influences, there is much a person
can do to overcome inappropriate eating, i.e., eating too much, eating high-
calorie foods, eating impulsively or eating in other unhealthy ways. It is
important to realise that your eating is a behaviour that doesn’t just happen.
It’s strongly influenced by the circumstances that surround it.
A variety of internal and external cues can trigger inappropriate eating.
Internal cues for eating often involve metabolic factors and may be
experienced as hunger thus leading to a search for something to eat. When
one is physically hungry, the need for food will stimulate them to search, if
necessary, for something to eat. Other internal cues come from the way
one thinks or from the physical arousal that often accompanies the
experience of emotion. Sometimes people overeat because they seek relief
from unpleasant emotions or feelings of arousal.
The pictures people have in their heads of food and the anticipation of
pleasure from eating can trigger the desire to eat, especially when the
opportunity to eat presents itself. They may walk by a cookie stand, smell
the freshly baked cookies and recall the taste of their favorite chocolate