Emotional Hunger: What Is It And How To Control Emotional Eating?
Do you think you are suffering from emotional eating? Do you think that emotional hunger is harming you? Discover the causes and the remedy to stop being an emotional eater.
Emotions have a surprising influence on all aspects of our lives, and one of them is food. That is why there are times when our mood leads us to abuse foods with high sugar or fat content. This phenomenon is called emotional eating or emotional hunger
By emotional eating or emotional hunger We understand those eating behaviors influenced by people’s emotions and moods. Some authors, such as the Madrid psychologist Isabel Menéndez, refer to the term “imaginary pantry” to explain the link between food and emotions. If we are worried, sad, feel that things are not going as they should, have emotional shortcomings or love sickness, our “imaginary pantry” will not be full, so we will make up for that void by overeating.
This relationship between food and emotions It is what allows us to discern between a biological and emotional need when eating. The first is determined by the need to eat to satisfy hunger and keep ourselves alive; The second is manifested by the urgent desire to eat as a consequence of our state of mind. In this second case, we calm the feeling of emptiness or discomfort that we feel with a binge on food, especially rich in fat; Other people look for sweet foods (chocolate, cookies, ice cream); There are even those who feel that they have to constantly eat to calm their discomfort.
If this in itself is a big problem, the consequences of this excess due to emotional food They are also important. The depression, the feeling of sadness and the feeling of stress or anxiety that they suffer are calmed with food, which, far from filling this void, generates a greater feeling of guilt and remorse, which, in turn, causes more depression and anxiety , which motivates them to eat again. It’s the whiting that bites its tail.
Causes of emotional hunger or emotional eating
One of the ways to know how to stop compulsive eating due to emotions, is precisely to know where this problem comes from. In most cases, emotional eating or emotional hunger has the following causes.
Conflicts in the couple: When people in a relationship are going through a crisis or a strong argument, it is common for food to be used as a source of stress relief. So much so that in most cases this emotional food It is a clear sign that you need to improve your communication as a couple.
Stress: One of the most common causes of emotional hunger It is precisely excessive stress. On many occasions, when there is a very high source of stress, it is difficult to control emotional eating from happening.
Anxiety or depression: These are two of the most common diseases in our current society. On many occasions we resort to emotional eating to alleviate the bad sensations and recurring thoughts common in both anxiety and depression.
Boredom or emptiness: Sometimes people feel like we are missing something in life. Many people end up resorting to emotional food to try to alleviate this void
These may be some of the reasons why the food and emotions They are so related in our lives. In many cases, changing these habits will require observing our thoughts and trying to establish a healthy routine around food.
Physical hunger vs emotional hunger
It is important to use the correct words and concepts when we describe what we feel when talking about food and emotions If what we are nervous but instead of expressing it like this we say to ourselves “I’m hungry”, we will be activating our survival brain that tells us that then we have to eat. In this way, we are promoting the so-called emotional eating or emotional eating.
In order to discern if we feel emotional or physical hunger, it takes both attention and learning to listen to yourself and pay attention to the words we use. This is one of the first steps to control emotional hunger. If we stop repeating to ourselves “I’m hungry” when what we really have is anxiety, or we have argued with our partner, or we are nervous about some important event, we will already be taking a first step towards not giving ourselves permission to have emotional nutrition. . For this it will be essential to distinguish between real food and emotions. So much so, that different studies have shown that there are two types of “hunger”:
physical hunger
It arises from our body’s need to acquire food for nutrition. We could say that this type of hunger is characterized by the following features.
Start gradually
You eat almost anything that relieves hunger.
Food can be postponed
You stop eating when you are full
No feelings of guilt
emotional hunger
It arises on a mental level without us needing any nutrition at those times. For its part, the emotional eating or emotional hunger It is characterized by the following:
How do I know if I am emotionally or physically hungry?
There are some signs that may indicate that you are using the emotional eating to calm an emotional process that is within you. In this way, the main differences between emotional and physical eating are the following.
It doesn’t appear suddenly: Physical hunger does not appear suddenly, in the same way as other needs. It accumulates until there comes a time when we can’t take it anymore and have to go to the bathroom. If you suddenly feel that you are hungry, it is not physical hunger, it is emotional hunger
It does not have fixed hours: Physical hunger may not always appear at the same time. If hunger “awakens” every time you enter the house, it is emotional eating
You don’t eat on a whim: Physical hunger is the body’s need for energy, and this means that any type of energy is sufficient and good to satisfy hunger. If you have a whim, or want to eat something very specific… it’s probably emotional hunger. For physical hunger any food is fine.
We feel satiety: When we have satisfied our physical hunger, we feel satiety (the body tells us “that’s it, I’ve had enough”). If you eat a lot and don’t feel full, you’re probably eating too much. emotional hunger or emotional eating (and the emotion is not satisfied, the hunger is satisfied).
Does it happen to you? Take the test to find out if you eat your emotions:
How to leave emotional eating or hunger behind?
The association that exists between food and our mood disorders reflects inappropriate eating behavior that must be treated by professionals. The complexity of emotions that underlies the consumption of excessive food forces psychologists to look for solutions that allow patients to find alternatives to this inappropriate behavior. It is about defining mechanisms that enable subjects to face their problems without resorting to food and that, in turn, allow them to regularize their dietary patterns. In this way, there are some resources that allow you to know how to stop being emotionally hungry
Exercise regularly: Most specialists advise calming the discomfort associated with our emotional and psychological problems. emotional food with exercise. Taking walks, doing some type of physical exercise, or practicing relaxation disciplines such as yoga and Pilates can help calm our state of anxiety without having to resort to food.
Find new hobbies or interests: Another tool that psychologists recommend is to supplement our leisure time with the development of recreational activities and hobbies. If we like to read or write, we can join writing groups and express what our emotions are like on paper; If we feel passionate about art, we can channel our emotional discomfort through drawing or painting. Tips such as making it mandatory to go out every day, even if it’s just to walk around the block, or increasing dates with friends also help calm our restlessness.
Socialize more: As much as we feel like being alone at certain times, the company of other people helps us calm the uncontrolled desire to overeat. Therefore, it is important that we look for activities and entertainment that we have to do as a group. This happens because on many occasions we try to alleviate our feeling of loneliness through emotional hunger For this reason, one of the ways to know how to eliminate the desire to eat emotionally is precisely by going out more with friends or meeting new people.
Control your stress: As we have already mentioned before, stress is one of the most common causes of ending up being a emotional eater In this way, it is vital to try to remedy this situation by trying to establish a habit that appeases the source of stress. You can try playing your favorite video game or visiting nature more frequently, that will depend on your tastes.
Find a balance point: To stop relating the food and emotions, you shouldn’t try to stop emotional eating cold turkey. The key to remedying this situation is precisely to establish a balance to eliminate this habit on a regular basis. A treat from time to time is something we all need.
Practice relaxation techniques: Meditation and other relaxation techniques are the salvation of our current pace of life. The reality is that all these activities are not only very healthy for the mind, but also for the body (indirectly). Therefore, it is vital to try to incorporate these habits if you want to leave behind the emotional eating
Attend group therapy: Finally, we can tell others about our discomfort by attending group therapy. The empathy that is transmitted in these meetings and the experience provided by the other subjects usually have very positive effects on patients.
He emotional hunger It can cause many problems both in your self-esteem and in your health. Therefore, it is vital to try to leave these habits behind to enjoy not only food but also good emotional well-being.
