Q. When I'm stressed, I keep craving food and binge eating. What should I do?

Stress-related binge eating is indeed challenging. In Traditional Korean Medicine, it generally falls into two patterns. The first is 'Liver depression (肝鬱)' where stress blocks the Liver's qi, causing Fire to flare upward into the Stomach, producing sudden cravings—often for spicy, salty, or stimulating foods. Symptoms include facial flushing, headaches, and chest tightness. Treatment focuses on 'soothing the Liver (疏肝)' with formulas like Soothing Liver and Relieving Depression Decoction (疏肝解鬱湯) and acupuncture points such as Taichong (LV3) and Hegu (LI4). The second pattern is 'Spleen deficiency (脾虛)', where chronic stress weakens the Spleen and Stomach, impairing digestion and leading to Phlegm-fluid accumulation. Here, binge eating results in bloating, heaviness, and irregular stools. Treatment emphasizes 'strengthening the Spleen (健脾)' with formulas like Tonifying the Middle and Augmenting Qi Decoction (補中益氣湯) or Two Aged Decoction (二陳湯), and points like Zusanli (ST36) and Zhongwan (CV12). These patterns often overlap, so a pulse diagnosis is essential. Avoiding self-blame is crucial—instead, view binge eating as a bodily signal. Combining herbal medicine and acupuncture can stabilize appetite-regulating hormones and the nervous system, gradually reducing episodes. As a practitioner who experienced this personally, I've learned that when the body changes, the mind follows.