Free 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food by Susan Albers

future, what would I like to do or say about this issue is…
If you spend a great deal of time in front of a computer, try out a Web journal. There are many free online journaling services.
    ~self-soothing technique~
    Investigating Stress Eating
    If you are not sure what to write about, that’s okay. There are some prompts below to help you get started. Each prompt is the beginning of a sentence. They are intended to stimulate your ideas. However, you don’t need specific prompts to reap the benefits of writing. If the questions listed don’t target what you’re feeling, just pick up a pen or pencil and start writing.
The worst thing about this situation is…
Three adjectives that best describe how I feel in this moment are…
The reason I’m feeling this emotion is…
When I eat, I feel….
    ~self-soothing technique~
    Looking at the Bright Side
    Looking at the bright side can help you get out of a funk. It can also interrupt stress eating. After you read the following statements, take a fresh sheet of paper or open a new computer file to write about anything that comes to your mind. Chose only one statement and then write about it in as much detail as possible.
A positive moment in your life, like your baby’s first smile, a good report card, a job promotion, or a surprise birthday party
A moment when you felt at peace or felt an intense calmness, like while you were watching a sunset on the shore of an ocean
A moment when you fell in love
A time you felt completely relaxed, such as on a vacation or a quiet moment after you put your children to bed
A time when your sense of adventure was strong, such as a time you went somewhere you’d never gone to before or a time you tried something new, like scuba diving
    Applying the Wisdom
    When you have finished writing about any of the statements above, it’s time to apply the wisdom. Answering the following questions may give you ideas on how to recreate some
    Aspects of the positive moments in your life:
What would it take to recreate such good feelings? How can you access even a bit of this emotion in the future?
More specifically, how can those good feelings help you cope with emotional eating at a later date?
    For example, say you wrote about a time when you felt completely relaxed on a vacation at the beach. You could write about any behaviors that would help you recreate some of the sensations from that experience. For instance, you could take your shoes off, put your bare feet into the bathtub, and run warm water over them. Then close your eyes and imagine walking along the water’s edge at the beach. Perhaps you could play tropical music or call the friend who went with you to the beach to reminisce.
    ~self-soothing technique~
    Image Journaling
    No one ever said journals must be written. As the saying goes, A picture is worth a thousand words. Draw visual images of how you’re feeling or take photographs of yourself in different moods. Keep a notebook of these drawings and photos. Date each picture and explain how it relates to food and emotional eating.
12. ha-ha moments
    A good laugh is sometimes the best tranquilizer. The other day, I was down and depressed about my weight. I wanted to gorge myself on whatever I could find in the kitchen. Instead, I tried to relax on the couch. When I flipped on the TV, I saw an ancient episode of I Love Lucy. It was so silly that I rolled on the floor laughing. By the end of the episode, I had completely forgotten about food. My irritation had evaporated and I was able to get moving again.
    —Terri
    Terri, a forty-two-year-old accountant, was once in a near-fatal airplane accident. While on her way to Europe, the plane had depressurized thousands of miles above the ocean. When the air masks were released, she was shaking so badly that she was unable to put on the mask. A nearby passenger came to her rescue. The plane made a safe emergency landing, but it was the most traumatic and terrifying situation in Terri’s entire