My first suggestion would be to see a doctor to rule out a physical illness or medication side effect. If not then you know it's somatic. Pay attention to how you feel emotionally before and after you eat. Do you feel better, numb or sleepy? You may be self-medicating with food. My guess is that you haven't added pounds but your pants are tighter is because you are loosing muscle and gaining fat. Muscle is more dense than fat so your net weight stays the same but your shape changes. When people isolate they also tend to be less active.

It sounds like your depression is very present right now. What have you done before to deal with it? What helps you to relax? What things would you be willing to try? You will need to do something the way I see it. The old saying is, if nothing changes, nothing changes.

Ok, somatic means physical reaction? I don't feel sleepy after I eat- either numb or better. Usually just more hungry. Ur words sound right to me.

Pray, listen to music/ read the Bible, watch movies/shows, draw. A lot of these things don't bring a lot of comfort now as it used to. I have to force myself to do it. Options are few but I will look into them.

Somatic means physical effects of emotional states. Our bodies respond more than we tend to think. I used to get some kind of bug every 4-6 weeks and just thought I had a lousy immune system. But since I've been in therapy since January, I've been sick twice and both were mild. I ususally don't feel better when I eat but I do get numb and sleepy (love those carb-comas.)
My eating disorders class uses the book Made to Crave. It pretty much says to pray any time you want to eat when or what you shouldn't. The one I got for myself uses dialectical behavioral therapy to address the underlying issues. It is End Emotional Eating by Jennifer Taitz. I found it more helpful.

I'm glad there are things you can do to feel better even it it's limited. It helps to remember that no matter what you are feeling, it won't last forever. It can't. Sometimes you just have to sit with the feelings, try postive comfort measures and avoid bad ones. I like that you enjoy drawing. One of the first things I was asked to do was to draw my feelings- about food, how I felt before and after, how I felt about my body etc. Art therapy can be very helpful for PTSD because it is a way to express such strong emotional reactions.

I eat for emotional reasons and have gained quite a lot of weight. The big thing is dealing with your emotions. If you can do that, then you won't eat for emotional reasons. Sometimes I think I eat to feel filled up, sometimes out of boredom, or lonliness.

Stella2011: Ur right. I don't realize what I am doing when I do start eating. I think I have become an emotional over-eater and not even know it. Maybe I have known I do it when I am extremely depressed, tired or just bored out of my head, but I don't consciously grasp it, if that makes sense. Emotional problems need to be addressed properly, like you've stated.

I know when I am overeating or just binge eating, but I haven't conquered dealing with the feelings enough that I won't eat and will deal with how I am doing. That's a really hard one for me. I know I need to lose weight, and along with everything else, I'm just not motivated to do anything about my weight.