Food, Feelings, & Fear: Anxiety and Eating
Anxiety shows up in many disguises. Sometimes it feels like racing thoughts or a pounding chest. Other times it’s more elusive, expressing itself through subtle bodily shifts we might not even realize are connected. These might include sudden loss of appetite… or an overwhelming urge to devour an entire pizza alone in the dark.
Have you ever found yourself unable to eat before a big meeting? Or craving sugar when you're stressed? The link between anxiety and our relationship with food is complex. It's rooted in biology and psychology. If you’re noticing these patterns in yourself, working with an anxiety therapist can help uncover what’s underneath.
When Control Feels Like Comfort
One of the most common threads in anxiety is a craving for control. When life feels unpredictable or overwhelming, our minds scramble to find something—anything—we can manage. For some, that means eating becomes extremely regulated. For example--skipping meals, counting calories obsessively, or losing appetite altogether. The restriction provides a sense of order. A quieting of internal chaos.
For others, control looks very different. When feelings are too big or too vague to name, eating becomes a form of self-soothing. The act of eating—especially foods high in sugar or fat—can briefly flood the brain with dopamine and endorphins. This gives a momentary sense of relief, even euphoria. In a body bracing for danger, that tiny chemical high feels like peace. And peace, no matter how fleeting, is something we’re wired to seek.
Ghost Hunger
From a psychological lens, compulsive eating often isn’t about hunger at all. It’s about ghost hunger—hunger for safety, for touch, for reassurance, for presence. Food becomes the stand-in for what we cannot name or what feels unavailable. It’s an attempt to fill an emotional void with something tangible. And for a while, it can work.
But just like restricting food doesn’t actually make life feel more manageable, overeating doesn’t truly resolve anxiety. It may numb it—but only for a moment. That’s where holistic therapy for anxiety can be a valuable resource. The goal is not just to stop a behavior, but to understand the emotional blueprint driving it.
The Endorphin Loop
There’s a reason this cycle is so hard to break. Eating certain foods triggers the release of endorphins—our body’s natural painkillers. These feel-good chemicals act almost like a mini tranquilizer. They calm the nervous system and reduce emotional distress. In fact, some studies show that the same brain pathways activated by sugar consumption are also triggered by addictive substances.
In a brain wired for survival, the logic is simple. This made me feel better last time. Do it again.
So whether we turn to food or away from it, anxiety often shows up in the stomach. And that’s not a coincidence.
The Gut-Brain Connection
Our digestive system and nervous system are deeply linked. The vagus nerve connects the gut and the brain, forming what scientists now call the gut-brain axis. This means our emotional state directly affects our appetite and digestion.
When we’re in fight-or-flight, digestion slows or shuts down completely. Our bodies prioritize survival over nourishment. That’s why you might feel nauseated, bloated, or completely uninterested in food during high-stress periods. It’s not “just in your head”—your body is responding exactly as it was designed to.
Conversely, when the nervous system is in shutdown, eating might become one of the only accessible ways to feel something, or to self-regulate. In both cases, eating (or not eating) is the body trying to help you cope.
Archetypes & Myth: Feeding the Hungry Ghost
In mythology and Jungian archetypal psychology, food often symbolizes more than sustenance. It’s connection. Nourishment. Desire. Power. Belonging. Think of Persephone eating the pomegranate seeds in the Underworld. Or the archetype of the Hungry Ghost in Buddhist mythology, beings with insatiable appetites, always seeking to fill a void that cannot be filled.
These stories aren’t only ancient myths. They live in us. The part of you that reaches for food when you’re hurting may be responding to an inner hunger that has nothing to do with your stomach. And the part of you that loses your appetite when you’re overwhelmed may be trying to survive a world that feels too much.
Five Questions to Explore Your Relationship with Anxiety and Food
If you’re curious about your own patterns in relationship to food, here are a few gentle questions to reflect on:
What emotions tend to precede my urge to eat or restrict food?
Do I feel more or less in control when I eat emotionally?
What am I truly craving in those moments—comfort, rest, affection, grounding?
How did food function in my family growing up? Was it tied to love, shame, rules, celebration?
What kind of hunger am I feeling—physical, emotional, relational, spiritual?
There’s no judgment in any of this. Simply be curious. Our eating patterns often carry deep wisdom. They’ve helped us survive, cope, self-soothe. And they can also offer a doorway into healing.
Ways to Soothe Without Self-Abandoning
If you notice a tendency to turn to food (or away from it) when anxiety hits, it can be helpful to explore alternative forms of self-regulation.
Try placing your hand on your chest, using weighted blankets, walking barefoot, or holding something textured. Grounding this way can calm the nervous system.
Humming, sighing, or long exhalations can shift your nervous system out of fight-or-flight.
Write, draw, dance—anything that helps you express what you’re feeling without censoring it.
Working with an anxiety therapist trained in somatic approaches can help your body release stored anxiety and develop new pathways to regulation.
Practice tuning in before and during eating. Ask yourself what you’re truly hungry for, physically and emotionally.
Rewriting the Story
There’s nothing wrong with seeking comfort in food. The goal isn’t to eliminate emotional eating—it’s to bring awareness to it. To honor the story it tells. To remember that the part of you reaching for the cookie or skipping the meal is trying to help you in the only way it knows how.
You are not broken. You are a human being navigating a world that often overwhelms the nervous system. And you deserve nourishment—not only of the body, but of the heart, the mind, and the soul.
If you're ready to explore these patterns with compassionate support, I invite you to reach out for a free 20-minute consultation. Together, we’ll explore whether holistic anxiety therapy in Pasadena might be right for you.
At Rezak Therapy, we specialize in trauma-informed, somatic, and depth-oriented therapy for individuals navigating anxiety, self-sabotage, perfectionism, and creative blocks. If you’re struggling with chronic stress, complex trauma, body-based symptoms, or simply want to feel more connected to yourself, you don’t have to do it alone.
Your healing doesn’t have to start with willpower. It can begin with curiosity, kindness, and the courage to ask for help.
