Overview

Heal the trauma at the root of your emotional eating. If you've experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, your past trauma could affect how you care for yourself today. You may struggle with difficult thoughts and feelings, and reach for food to soothe your emotions when feeling sad, anxious, or stressed. You aren't alone. In fact, studies show there is a strong link between adversity, trauma, and abuse and emotional eating. The good news is there are tools you can use to heal from the past and nurture a healthier relationship with food, your body, and yourself. This book offers step-by-step guidance for rewiring your brain to calm trauma-based fears, regulate your body and emotions, connect with your inner wisdom for strength, and release the emotional need to hold onto weight. Healing Emotional Eating for Trauma Survivors offers an innovative, trauma-informed approach to overcoming emotional eating using the principles of mindfulness, self-compassion, and neuroscience. With this gentle guide, you will gain a deeper understanding of your trauma, and discover alternative ways to soothe stress and difficult emotions when they show up. You'll also learn to shift your focus away from your weight, so you can cultivate a more loving connection with your body as you heal. With this compassionate guide, you'll discover ways to: Calm your anxious brain and body Safely process your emotions Transform self-punishment into self-compassion Practice self-forgiveness and overcome body shame Take your power back from trigger foods Create an emotionally safe sanctuary with friends, family, and home Most importantly, you'll find the support you need to end the cycle of emotional eating and release the weight of your trauma--so you can live with a greater sense of freedom and vitality.

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9781648481178

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Reviews

"""Healing Emotional Eating for Trauma Survivors offers practical and grounded strategies to help you heal 'both inside-out and outside-in.' If you are a trauma survivor--this kind and gentle book will help you have a greater understanding of the impact of your trauma on your emotional system, and have a better relationship with your body and food."" --Gretchen L. Schmelzer, PhD, author of Journey Through Trauma--Gretchen L. Schmelzer, PhD ""A wise and compassionate book that illuminates how trauma survivors can finally make peace with emotional eating. Diane Petrella guides readers to deeply understand why their trauma has led to their struggles--and offers healing strategies, wisdom, and gentle kindness to release their pain, secrets, anxiety, and stress. Petrella captures the heartbeat of what it means to recover from trauma and emotional eating, and offers hope that recovery is possible."" --Mary Anne Cohen, LCSW, BCD, director of The New York Center for Eating Disorders; and author of three books on eating disorders, including Lasagna for Lunch--Mary Anne Cohen, LCSW, BCD ""Diane Petrella brings a compassionate approach to resolving the challenges of emotional eating and childhood trauma. She provides many nourishing practices to establish a healthy relationship with food, while gently addressing early trauma. Diane's step-by-step guidance, prompts, and suggestions can bring you back to a deep sense of security, opening you to your innermost being."" --Julie Brown Yau, PhD, author of The Body Awareness Workbook for Trauma--Julie Brown Yau, PhD ""Diane Petrella's compassionate voice comes through loud and clear in this excellent book that examines the connection between emotional eating and trauma. With an understanding that turning to food for comfort isn't about a lack of willpower, a matter of addiction, or solved through dieting, Diane offers practical, gentle strategies to heal your relationship with food at any size."" --Judith Matz, LCSW, coauthor of The Diet Survivor's Handbook and The Making Peace with Food Card Deck--Judith Matz, LCSW ""I wish I had this book thirty-five years ago when I started on my own journey toward making peace with food and my body. If you're ready to develop a more compassionate understanding of how your emotional eating helps you cope with developmental trauma, and experience a nourishing relationship with food, Diane is your guide! Healing Emotional Eating for Trauma Survivors is clear and comprehensive, filled with heart and inspiration."" --Barbara L. Holtzman, MSW, LICSW, psychotherapist; and author of Conscious Eating, Conscious Living--Barbara L. Holtzman, MSW, LICSW ""If you're a trauma survivor and use food to cope, you'll find comfort, guidance, and hope in this insightful book. Petrella helps you understand that emotional eating is not your fault, but a self-care strategy that helped you survive. She then compassionately guides you through easy, comforting strategies you can use to heal emotionally, rebalance your nervous system, and discover your authentic self as you find freedom from emotional eating."" --Courtney Armstrong, LPC, author of Rethinking Trauma Treatment--Courtney Armstrong, LPC ""Practical, smart, and wise, this beautifully crafted guide fills a much-neglected niche in the trauma self-help literature. Diane succeeds in de-pathologizing and simplifying the complexities of emotional, cognitive, somatic, and behavioral residue of trauma. She offers simple yet powerful practices for addressing the nervous system dysregulation that leads to emotional eating. Readers will discover new ways of dealing with triggering states, resulting in more resilience and adaptive behaviors. Highly recommended!"" --Julie M. Simon, MA, MBA, LMFT, licensed psychotherapist, life coach, and author of The Emotional Eater's Repair Manual and When Food Is Comfort--Julie M. Simon, MA, MBA, LMFT ""This deeply compassionate look at the connection between early trauma and emotional eating provides an outstanding self-help program for addressing these painful issues. With warmth and empathy, Diane Petrella guides you along a path of healing that is based on empirical data and clinical wisdom. As you travel this journey, you'll feel as if Diane is holding your hand, offering reassurance and comfort every step of the way."" --Leigh Anne Hohlstein, PhD, clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, and psychotherapist specializing in the treatment of eating disorders--Leigh Anne Hohlstein, PhD"

Author Information

Diane Petrella, MSW, is a licensed independent clinical social worker specializing in childhood trauma and emotional eating. Early in her nearly forty-year career, she codeveloped the first child sexual abuse treatment program in Rhode Island. She has a private psychotherapy practice in Providence, Rhode Island

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