Healing your relationship with food — how EFT supports eating disorder recovery
Rewire your mind, release emotional eating and build a healthier relationship with food through EFT.
Eating disorders are rarely just about food. They are deeply intertwined with our emotions, beliefs, and experiences—shaped by the narratives we hold about ourselves and our place in the world. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), also known as “tapping,” is a powerful, evidence-based practice that helps rewire the brain’s neural pathways, gently transforming how we think and feel about food and our bodies.
At Ianthe House, we’ve seen firsthand how EFT can help people break free from restrictive or compulsive behaviours, not by fighting food, but by healing the emotional wounds beneath it.
“It was so good, honestly, I’ve been feeling so calm as I haven’t in a long time.”
EFT · the science behind the approach
EFT combines acupressure tapping with cognitive reframing, working directly with the brain’s fear centre (the amygdala) to reduce emotional distress. Studies show that EFT significantly lowers cortisol (the stress hormone) levels by up to 43%, helping the nervous system reset and lowering the intensity of distressing thoughts, emotions and urges.
⤷ How EFT helps
Safe, non-invasive, and evidence-based
Helps process emotions without re-traumatisation
Reduces the fight-or-flight response around food
The Two Key Areas EFT Transforms — Relationship & Emotion
1. Your Relationship with Food
Your relationship with food is one of the longest and most significant relationships of your life. But for many, this relationship has become one of control, restriction, guilt or punishment.
“The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives.”
💡 What if we thought of food as a person?
Would they feel respected and appreciated? Or would they feel neglected and mistreated?
Most people struggling with eating disorders aren’t just battling food—they are battling a fractured relationship with it.
⤷ How EFT Helps
Reframes your subconscious beliefs about food
Helps release fear and guilt associated with eating
Rebuilds trust—turning food from an enemy into an ally
“The step-by-step approach takes you on a journey. Combining EFT with therapy provides real tools to fall back on in difficult times.”
2. Food and Emotion: Breaking the Cycle of Emotional Eating
From the moment we’re born, food is linked to emotion. A crying baby is given milk to soothe distress. A toddler is calmed with snacks. A child is rewarded with treats for good behaviour.
This neural wiring stays with us for life—which is why, as adults, we often turn to food for comfort, stress relief, or distraction. But when eating becomes our emotional coping mechanism, the real issue isn’t food—it’s unprocessed emotions.
“One cannot think well, love well, or sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
💡 Food is less a matter of the stomach and more a matter of the heart.
⤷ How EFT Helps
Identifies and processes the emotional root cause of ED
Releases stored trauma or distress linked to eating patterns
Shifts compulsive behaviours naturally—without force or restriction
“I’d typically fall into bad habits at this point, but I’m so conscious of it now. I’ve been tapping my way through it and not restricting, despite my brain telling me to.”
What the Research Says About EFT for Eating Disorders
A growing body of research highlights EFT as a powerful tool for emotional healing. A study on EFT for binge eating disorder found that participants showed significant reductions in binge episodes, emotional distress, and food-related guilt.
⤷ How EFT works
EFT works directly on the amygdala, reducing emotional reactivity
Proven to lower anxiety and disordered eating behaviours
Gentle yet effective—providing relief without retraumatisation
Many people who use EFT for eating disorder recovery find that once the emotional wounds are processed, the food struggles resolve themselves. Because the problem was never really food—it was unhealed pain.
Take the First Step — Book an EFT Session Today
If you're tired of feeling stuck in fear, restriction, guilt, or binge cycles, EFT offers a gentle, effective way to break free. You don’t have to fight food or force yourself to eat differently—you just have to heal what’s underneath.
“These women are so incredible. They are high achieving, they are intelligent, they are beautiful, they are capable, — they are so strong, because every day is a challenge most will never fully comprehend.”
⤷ Pricing
single EFT Session – £100 (60 minutes, online)
member rate – from £60 a session (+ discounts and bonus credits)
⤷ membership
members of Ianthe Houses or Recovery Circles receive discounts and monthly credits for our therapy marketplace.
new members can book a free taster session to explore how EFT could support their recovery.
