Most of us have been guilty of emotional eating at some point in our lives. Emotional eating basically entails using food as a coping mechanism for emotions such as shame, guilt, disappointment or even boredom. Psychologists report that it's a growing problem, and it may even contribute to the obesity epidemic in the U.S. The emotional eater tends to address the emotions that surround a stressful experience, rather than the stressor itself. Avoidance is the name of the game here. So if you argue with your partner and cope with emotional eating instead of working it out, then the problem is compounded. Not only has the argument been left unresolved, but the emotional eater also has to deal with his or her feelings about the emotional eating episode. When it becomes habitual – constantly relying on food for comfort or avoidance, mindlessly eating or overeating – it can form an addiction to food, much like drug or sex addiction. The addicted emotional eater is unable to resist the temptation to feed his or her feelings when triggered.