When we have difficult emotions, it`s natural to use things outside ourselves to help us survive. These outlets can be constructive, like exercise or blogging, or negative, like getting drunk and narcotics. For some people, food is the outlet they use when feeling out of control emotionally. Emotional eating is a way to suppress negative emotions for many people.
For some people, emotional eating just means eating a little chocolate after a hard day at work. For lots, however, this is a dangerous addiction that can lead to obesity and health troubles. Many comfort foods are loaded with calories, sugar, and sodium, which all can cause health problems when consumed in excessive quantities.
There are many factors that can cause emotional eating. Major life happenings, or even day to day annoyances can lead emotional eaters to the pantry. For many, eating can even be a way of relief from boredom. There is a chemical explanation to emotional eating additionally. Many popular comfort foods release chemicals or hormones that elevate your mood, so they can be chemically as well as psychologically calming.
Emotional eating is a difficult habit to quit. However, there are a few suggestions to help quit this dangerous tendency. It`s important to learn how to tell the difference between real hunger and an emotionally motivated urge to chow down. If you know that you aren`t actually hungry, give it some time to see if the urge passes. Emotional cravings differ(s) from physical cravings in a couple ways. It comes on rapidly, while physical hunger is slower. True hunger is a broad feeling of emptiness, while emotional hunger will make you want something in particular. Emotional eating is also more likely to make you feel shame afterwards.
Don`t keep comfort foods nearby, because it`s much less difficult to fight those impulses when temptation isn`t easy to access. Try to replace unhealthy comfort foods with better for you alternatives. Make a list of things you can do to sidetrack yourself when emotional eating threatens, such as go for a run, take a quick nap, or read a newspaper. Finally, seeking the help of a counselor to address the hidden motivations for emotional eating can be very helpful.
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