From Emotional Eating to Emotional Freedom: What You’re Really Hungry For

You know the drill.You're not physically hungry—but you find yourself reaching for the snack drawer… again. Maybe it’s after a stressful meeting. Or a hard conversation. Or just one of those days where everything feels too much.

And then the guilt hits. “Why did I do that again?” “What’s wrong with me?” “I’ll start over Monday.”

If that’s you, you’re not alone. And you’re not broken.

In this week’s episode of You Have the Power, I sat down with trauma-informed coach Jillian Scott, who shares her raw and real story of overcoming 14 years of binge eating—not through restriction, but through reconnection.

Together, we unpacked something that isn’t talked about enough: Emotional eating is not a willpower issue. It’s a trauma response. It’s your nervous system doing what it was trained to do—find comfort when it feels unsafe.

The Truth Behind the Craving

Jillian explains that emotional eating usually starts in childhood, especially for women who grew up in environments where love or praise was conditional. Where achievement earned you approval. Where your body, emotions, and needs were constantly scrutinized.

And in many cases, especially in narcissistic or emotionally abusive relationships, food becomes one of the only reliable sources of comfort and pleasure.

So when you try to take food away…It can feel like losing your only safe place. No wonder it doesn’t work.

What Healing Actually Looks Like

Jillian doesn’t sugarcoat it: unlearning emotional eating isn’t instant. It’s messy. Slow. Sometimes frustrating. But it is possible—and it starts with a single question: “Am I physically hungry, or am I trying to soothe something deeper?”

From there, it’s about rebuilding trust with your body—bite by bite, moment by moment. It’s about no longer punishing yourself for coping, but instead getting curious about what your body and heart are actually asking for.

Because food can’t fix loneliness. Oreos don’t cure resentment. And no amount of chips can fill a void that was created by trauma or emotional neglect.

From Self-Abandonment to Self-Compassion

The biggest shift? Learning to stop abandoning yourself when you’re struggling. Learning to create a life that brings joy and pleasure—so food doesn’t have to carry that weight.

Whether you’ve battled binge eating for years or just feel stuck in the cycle of numbing with food, this episode will meet you with compassion and call you into deeper truth.

Ready to break the cycle and start your own path to emotional freedom?

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