The Hidden Cost of Coping: When Food, Finance, and Control Collide
We all eat to survive. We all spend to live. But what happens when these two essential acts become tangled—when a compulsive urge to cope drives both your eating habits and your bank account?
As a Certified Financial Therapist, I’ve noticed a critical, often-overlooked link: the same emotional drivers that fuel disordered eating often lead to disordered financial habits. It’s not just about food or money; it’s about the struggle for control in an overwhelming world.
This is the cycle of Disordered Consumption™.
The Two EssentialsWe Struggle With Most
Think about the two things you interact with daily that are essential for survival but are constant sources of stress: food and money.
Both are necessities that our modern consumer culture has dangerously distorted. We are constantly barraged with ads nudging us to consume more, fueling the idea that happiness is something you can buy, and identity is earned through what you own or eat.
When our fundamental needs—for nourishment, security, or even approval—become dysregulated, they evolve into compulsive behaviors that place us outside of regulated self-control. This is the core of Disordered Consumption™.
Understanding the C3 Cycle™: Compulsion, Consumption, and Control
Disordered behaviors in both food and finance are often driven by an interconnected dynamic I call the C3 Cycle:
Compulsion: This is the strong, unconscious urge to act or consume, typically triggered by emotional distress (stress, anxiety, loneliness, fatigue). It could manifest as an impulse to binge eat, doom-scroll, or compulsively buy something you don't need.
Consumption: The act of fulfilling that compulsion. You stop for fast food despite having dinner prepared, or you engage in "retail therapy" after a tough day. While this provides temporary relief, it often leads to crushing feelings of shame and guilt.
Control: The desperate attempt to regain control after the fact. This can look like extreme restriction—rigid dieting, over-saving, or hoarding money. However, these shame-fueled efforts intensify the emotional turmoil, setting the stage for the next compulsive reaction, and the spiral continues.
This cycle is the engine behind behaviors like:
Impulsive Emotional Spending: Purchases tied to moods rather than needs, such as overspending on food, clothing, or substances to numb stress.
Financial Anorexia: Extreme aversion to spending money, even on essentials, as a desperate attempt to feel in control (similar to restricting food intake).
Secrecy and Shame: Hiding purchases, secretly eating, or avoiding conversations about money—all rooted in a feeling of being unworthy of stability.
Breaking the Cycle: It's a Systems Problem, Not a Willpower Problem
If you've ever felt trapped in the C3 Cycle, you might have told yourself, "I just don't have enough willpower."
The most critical shift in perspective is this: Disordered consumption™ is a systems problem, not a willpower problem.
It is not a moral failing or a personal weakness. You are simply reacting to overwhelming emotional, social, and cultural systems that are designed to trigger consumption. Willpower alone cannot stand up to thousands of daily advertisements, decision fatigue, and unaddressed emotional distress.
Breaking the cycle means replacing shame-fueled control with intentional living and building a new system that supports your well-being. It’s not about finding the perfect budget or the perfect diet. It’s about understanding the emotional drivers that are costing you peace of mind and financial security.
You deserve a life where you feel stable, secure, and well. By identifying the systemic triggers and building flexible, trauma-informed strategies, we redefine control—not as restriction, but as living intentionally.
Ready to Shift from Coping to Thriving?
If your relationship with food, finance, and retail feels complicated, messy, or out of control, you don't have to navigate it alone. My work as a Financial Therapist integrates both financial planning tools and trauma-informed clinical insights to help you identify patterns, redefine control, and build genuine, lasting Wealth through Wellness.
Stop letting the C3 Cycle drive your life. Let's focus on transforming shame into sustainable systems
