Food is so much more than just fuel for our bodies. It’s also a powerful connector.  Food brings us together with family and friends, and allows us to express and receive love and appreciation, spark new relationships, create memories, discover and care for the world around us, and even navigate and explore our inner emotional and spiritual landscape. Because food helps us feel connected, we may also reach for it in moments of disconnection, distress, isolation, and loneliness. We can turn to it for comfort, or for a sense of familiarity and reassurance. And that’s because of a foundational, biochemical truth for every human being on this planet:  When we eat food, we feel better.  As Marc David unpacks in this episode, using food to self-soothe and comfort ourselves isn’t all bad. In fact, the conscious use of food to feel better can actually be beneficial. Fifty-nine year old guest coaching client, Debra, endured the death of her late husband several years ago – and now finds herself again grieving the loss of a relationship – this time, a breakup.  In response to her grief and sadness, Debra has noticed she’s started eating compulsively in the evenings. And she feels ashamed of having gained some extra weight in recent months. Follow their conversation, as Marc explores how the loss or absence of close relationships and social ties in our lives can mean we look to food to satisfy some of our most basic needs – and how, at different times in our life, that can be a therapeutic strategy. ? Listen now to learn more about why eating for comfort or connections isn’t shameful, and can actually be supportive in our healing journey – if we learn how to make it work for us, not against us.  You’ll hear how consciously seeking intimacy through food can ease the pain of isolation, while prioritizing social time in everyday life can help protect us from falling into future loneliness. --------------- Learn more about us at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating: https://psychologyofeating.com/  Ready to call a ceasefire in your battle with eating, and find peace and freedom with food? Learn more about our newest program, The Emotional Eating Breakthrough! https://learn.psychologyofeating.com/ Interested in becoming a certified coach in eating psychology? Then tune in to hear Marc talk about our Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training, and download a copy of our School Catalog: https://psychologyofeating.com/info-kit/ Learn our powerful, cutting-edge approach, and discover how you can create a unique career helping others find peace and freedom with food. Follow us on social:  - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Psychologyofeating - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IPEfanpage - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatingpsychology/ - Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/eatingpsych #emotionaleating #nourishnotpunish #grief #loneliness #mindfuleating #intuitiveeating #selflove #eatingpsychology #marcdavid