Eating your feelings

The other day, I ate my anger in the form of spicy noodles, and the day before that, I found happiness in a packet of chips with salsa. I see peace in a mug of coffee and I had a box of chocolate ice cream when tears run down my cheeks. Am I eating food or am I eating my emotions out in the form of that food?  This is me finding my ease in food for every emotion I go through nowadays. It's not every day we get the chance to eat our emotions; however, comfort food is consistently here for us. Regardless of whether it's an awful day or a terrible breakup, or any celebration, the one thing we can depend on is having the option to stuff our souls thereafter, without facing any questions.

Perhaps the greatest myth about emotional eating is that it's provoked by negative feelings. Indeed, one frequently starts eating more when they're worried, lonely, sad, restless, or exhausted. However, emotional eating can be connected to positive emotions as well, similar to the sentiment of sharing a treat with your beloved, celebrating any success or festival. Once in a while, emotional eating is attached to significant life occasions, similar to a demise or a separation. Also, it's the countless little daily stresses that cause someone to seek comfort or distraction in food.

Emotional eating is when one uses food as an approach to managing emotions rather than to fulfill hunger. We've all been there, completing an entire pack of chips out of boredom or bringing down many treats while preparing for a major test. But, when one does it a lot, particularly without realizing it, emotional eating can affect weight and health. However, eating comfort food when things get tough is not a solution to life's challenges. It only works temporarily. Worse, it causes long-term distress if it brings about weight gain and other health issues.

You might have the option to stop pressure eating or emotional eating by making sense of why you need comfort food. Does it calm you down, cheer you up, compensate you for an exhausting day? Perceiving these idea examples can make it simpler to oppose your craving. It also helps to realize that emotional eating doesn't solve the problem that made you upset. 

Another approach to controlling emotional eating is to make sense of what your triggers are. Keep a food journal that records what -- and the amount -- you ate, yet additionally how you felt at that point. When you perceive a pattern, build up a procedure to break it. For example, if you often eat because you think you deserve it following an extreme day, recall that you additionally have the right to shed pounds, feel healthy, and be glad for yourself. On the off chance that you eat as a result of pressure, figure out how to dial back that pressure. Yoga, reflection, and customary exercise can help decrease feelings of anxiety.

The best distraction from emotional eating is things that take just around five minutes -- sufficiently long to assist you with changing gears. 

Taking a five-minute walk, sitting outside, putting on your preferred music, calling a dear companion to visit, trying to read that unfinished book, or playing some games are all efficient alternatives. 

The more ways you can consider to divert yourself, the simpler it will become after some time to stop stress eating. Rather, opposing will turn into your new habit.

For certain individuals, emotional eating is a learned habit. During childhood, their folks give them treats to help them with managing a bad day or circumstance, or as an award for something great. Over time, the child who reaches for a cookie after getting a bad grade on a test may become an adult who grabs a box of cookies after a rough day at work. This is the root of emotional eating that is profound, which can make breaking the habit a little too hard.

Even when we understand what's going on, many of us still need help breaking the cycle of emotional eating. It’s always useful to talk to a therapist to discuss different approaches to break the pattern of emotional eating, if one feels like it. A nutritionist or specialist may likewise have the option to give a referral to an expert or useful information on making positive eating habits and a better relationship with food.

It is understandable that this lockdown and whatever is going on around the world can make it difficult for us to keep ourselves away from food. But despite all of these, let’s try not to eat our hearts out of sadness, boredom, or any other emotion.