Don't Eat Your Feelings!

Have you been eating to feel better lately? I sure have!

I have been craving sweets and potatoes since the start of the pandemic-- Gee, wonder why?

Emotional eating is something everybody can relate to—you've had a tough day maybe at work or stressful day at home and you get a craving for something sweet as a reward. Maybe you've got that "after lunch sinkin' spell" as one of my mentors used to say. Maybe you're anxious, and that package of chocolate chip cookies is calling your name.

Studies show that sweet/salt/fat tastes trigger the pleasure centers in our brains—that's why we don't crave a carrot when we're stressed! It's not our fault though—our brains react this way because our long-ago ancestors needed to eat high calorie foods when they were available because food was scarce. In our modern world we generally have an abundance of food so there's no need to hoard calories, but the wiring in our brains hasn't changed-we still crave high calorie foods when we're stressed out.

Many of my clients report they are binge eating or emotional eating to cope with anxiety, stress, or depression. They want to stop but they don't know how. One great way to cope with uncomfortable feelings, and possibly avoid emotional eating, is to write a journal entry when a craving hits. Doing this can relieve the anxiety or stress and hopefully also the cravings. We also talk about other ways to reduce or eliminate their anxiety/depression/stress/guilt so that they don't need the comfort of "comfort food".