How to control "Emotional Overeating"

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Emotional nutrition is a dietary pattern where people use food to help them deal with stressful situations.

Most people experience such a condition at some point in their lives. It can even be the intense desire to consume an entire bag of chips or chocolate after a hard day's work. However, when emotional consumption occurs frequently or becomes the main way a person is confronted with his emotions, then his life, health, happiness, and weight are negatively affected.

Some basic facts about emotional consumption

• The reasons for its appearance are both psychological and physical.

• Often, the emotional diet is triggered by stress or other intense emotions.

• Learning coping strategies can help relieve the most serious symptoms.

Stimuli that need to be avoided

Emotions, such as stress, are not the only stimuli that trigger an emotional diet. Other frequently occurring stimuli that people report are the following:

• Boredom: Most people live very active and intense lives and when they suddenly have nothing to do, they turn to food to fill the void.

• Habits: They are mainly caused by nostalgia or habits that existed in childhood. An example is consuming ice cream as a feedback for a good working day.

• Fatigue: It is easier to overeat when we are tired or dissatisfied with our work. Food can feel like the answer to a lack of job satisfaction.

• Social influences: We all have a friend who tempts us to order pizza or constantly invites us to dinner or a drink after a hard day. And it's easy to hang out with family or friends.

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Dealing strategies

The first step to getting rid of an emotional diet is to recognize the stimuli and situations that lead us to it in our daily lives. Keeping a diary can help identify them. The diary can also show us the behavior we experience before and after emotional outbursts.

Then we can look for different ideas for ways that can reverse what triggers this pattern of behavior. For example,

• Someone who eats when they are bored can better look for a new book that will captivate them or start a new hobby, to fight the bad habit of overeating.

• Someone who is eating because of stress may turn to yoga, meditation, or a leisurely walk so that they can curb and control their emotions?

• Someone who eats because they feel sad may be better off contacting a friend at that time, going for a run, or planning a short trip to combat negative emotions.

What can certainly be shown to be liberating and helpful is psychotherapy, which can break the vicious cycle of emotional nutrition. This phenomenon is not simply a matter of lack of self-control and self-discipline. The causes are more complex and may include the following reasons:

Childhood development

For some emotional nutrition is a learned behavior. During childhood, parents offer treats (sweets, etc.) to make a child forget or as a reward for something good. Over time, the child who gets a cookie, to forget a bad grade on a test will become the adult who will swallow a box of cookies after a hard day at work. In such an example, the roots of emotional nutrition are deeply rooted and can make it difficult to solve the problem.

Difficulty coping with emotions

And of course, it's common for people to struggle with difficult or uncomfortable feelings. There is an instinct or a need to correct or quickly dispel these negative emotions, which can lead to unhealthy behaviors. And emotional consumption is not just about negative emotions. For example, there are cases of overeating due to holidays and celebrations.

Physical effect of stress

There are also some organic reasons that are caused by stress and intense emotions and can lead a person to overeat:

• High cortisol levels: Initially, stress reduces appetite, so the body needs to deal with this condition. If stress does not subside, another hormone called cortisol is released. Cortisol increases appetite and can cause severe hunger, leading to overeating.

• Jaundice: High levels of cortisol due to stress can increase intense gluttony and cravings for sweet or fatty foods. Stress is also linked to increased hunger hormones, which also contribute to a strong desire for unhealthy foods.

• Sex: Some research shows that women are more likely to use food to deal with stress than men, while the latter are more likely to smoke or use alcohol.

Physical vs emotional hunger

It is very easy to confuse emotional hunger with physical hunger. But there are features that set them apart. Recognizing these subtle differences is the first step toward stopping this negative eating pattern.

Is hunger fast or gradual?

Emotional hunger tends to appear quickly and suddenly and we feel the need urgently. Physical hunger is usually not so intense or sudden unless the person has many hours to eat.

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Is the strong desire for a specific food?

Emotional hunger is usually associated with a craving for fast food or something unhealthy. Someone who is physically hungry will probably eat anything, while someone who is emotionally hungry will want something specific and rather fatty, such as french fries or pizza.

Is there unconscious consumption?

Unconscious consumption occurs when one eats without paying attention or enjoys what one consumes. An example is when we eat a whole packet of ice cream while watching TV, without really having the intention to eat so much. This behavior usually occurs during the emotional diet and not during real, physical hunger.

Is hunger coming from the stomach or from the head?

Emotional hunger does not come from the stomach. Emotional tends to start when a person thinks about a particular food or his own greed.

Do you regret or feel guilty about what you consume?

When we are tempted to eat because of stress, we usually regret it, feel ashamed, or feel guilty. These responses tend to be related to emotional hunger. On the other hand, when we satisfy our physical hunger by consuming nutrients and necessary calories, we do not feel bad at all.

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Conclusion

Emotional nutrition is a common experience and is not often associated with physical, organic hunger. Some people will often succumb to this phenomenon in their lives, while others will realize that it has a significant effect on their lives and that it even threatens their health (physical and mental).

Anyone who is experiencing negative emotions in relation to their eating habits, it is best to visit a doctor to discuss it. He or she will recommend a certified nutritionist or psychotherapist to address the root causes of emotional distress.