maximize adaptive strategies. a study conducted by corstorphine et al. in 2007 investigated the relationship between distress tolerance and disordered eating. these researchers specifically focused on how different coping strategies impact distress tolerance and disordered eating. they found that individuals who engage in disordered eating often employ emotional avoidance strategies. if an individual is faced with strong negative emotions, they may choose to avoid the situation by distracting themselves through overeating. discouraging emotional avoidance is thus an important facet to emotional eating treatment. the most obvious way to limit emotional avoidance is to confront the issue through techniques like problem solving. corstorphine et al. showed that individuals who engaged in problem solving strategies enhance one's ability to tolerate emotional distress. since emotional distress is correlated to emotional eating, the ability to better manage one's negative affect should allow an individual to cope with a situation without resorting to overeating. one way to combat emotional eating is to employ mindfulness techniques. for example, approaching cravings with a nonjudgmental inquisitiveness can help differentiate between hunger and emotionally-driven cravings. an individual may ask his or herself if the craving developed rapidly, as emotional eating tends to be triggered spontaneously. an individual may also take the time to note his or her bodily sensations, such as hunger pangs, and coinciding emotions, like guilt or shame, in order to make conscious decisions to avoid emotional eating. emotional eating can also be improved by evaluating physical facets like hormone balance. female hormones, in particular, can alter cravings and even self-perception of one's body. additionally, emotional eating can be exacerbated by social pressure to be thin. the focus on thinness and dieting in our culture can make young girls, especially, vulnerable to falling into food restriction and subsequent emotional eating behavior. emotional eating disorder predisposes individuals to more serious eating disorders and physiological complications. therefore, combatting disordered eating before such progression takes place has become the focus of many clinical psychologists. emotional undereating in a lesser percentage of individuals, emotional eating may conversely consist of eating less, called stress fasting or emotional undereating. this is believed to result from the fight-or-flight response. in some individuals, depression and other psychological disorders can also lead to emotional fasting or starvation.