Food is essential for life but also a source of tremendous pleasure. We use it to celebrate friendship and family, and if we are lucky, there will be many occasions every year to enjoy eating with lots of other people. Celebration is a very positive and important role for food. Overeating at special events is nothing to worry about. However, food is so accessible, so cheap and some is advertised so heavily that there is a lot of pressure for us to overeat every day.

Eating with friends is something to enjoy. But once over, getting back to eating in a planned, balanced and healthy way is a priority. A small amount of weight gain is not a failure. Rather than beating ourselves up, we can concentrate on stopping any further weight gain. This will give us a sense of achievement to support us as we return to our regular sensible, balanced and planned eating pattern. Returning to this pattern of eating will deal with any excess weight.

Occasional overeating at parties is not what makes us fat. Instead, it is the every day overeating - eating between meals, the sweets, the crisps and all the other snacks that are so readily available and so very palatable. They have been designed by people in labs wearing white coats to ensure that they really do hit the bliss point.

Or you might be overeating to help you face social challenges or emotional needs such as comfort, security or fun. Many of us from time to time have found ourselves scavenging in the fridge or cupboard for a little something nice to eat to overcome boredom or to deal with stress. Emotionally-driven eating may result in weight gain, but it can create an sense of discontent because of the weight gain and feeling of failure because we can't control our appetite. Hypnosis will help you to deal with any anxieties so that you are feeling confident when it comes to getting back to a helpful way of eating.