Sarah Hyacinthe/Contributing Writer
Ice cream and chocolate have always been presented as comfort foods for those undergoing heartbreak. For some reason, these foods taste better when feeling disconsolate and inspire one’s sweet-tooth. Coincidence? Perhaps not. Emotional eating has always been a part of most routines, but perhaps was never singled out.
As described by Adriaanse Marieke, emotional eating is “the tendency to overeat in response to negative emotions such as anxiety or irritability.” This is precisely what we experience when ingesting an excessive number of calories following a breakup.
Does it then follow that eating while emotional is a problem? Perhaps not by itself. The issue manifests when one overeats as a result of negative feelings, like depression, anxiety or boredom.
These emotions can all cause “eating dysregulation,” an individual’s tendency not to be responsive to signs of hunger and satiety as a method of choosing how much food to consume. People with eating dysregulation rely on exterior reasons to initiate and cease eating. It is also believed that heightened stress levels are associated with the consumption of more food.
The scientific rationalization is that interactions between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. The reward-circuitry of the brain may facilitate the correlation between stress and eating by lessening the stress response, thus motivating the intake of high calorie foods. In layman’s terms, the brain deals with stress by reducing stress levels the moment calorie rich foods such as pizza, cake or ice cream are consumed.
By doing this, eating becomes an effort to keep negative emotions at bay, providing comfort and a distraction when emotionally distressed. In this scenario, eating does not exist as a method of survival but rather as a coping mechanism for the morose.
However, research shows that there are ways to design an intervention that teaches focus on internal cues to guide eating behaviors.
It has been suggested that children who are taught to concentrate on their internal cues of hunger and satiety when eating are better at regulating their food intake, compared to children who are taught to focus on external cues.
These external cues are many and they vary from stress from academic work, anxiety from socializing, heartbreak or the loss of a loved one or boredom due to a lack of interesting activities. With such a range, no one is exempt and everyone could be an emotional eater.
It is imperative to pay attention to the inner signs. The next time emotions are running high and stress or anger compels you to grab a cupcake or bag of chips, think twice. Once you have centered yourself and allowed your mind to harmonize with your body, you might be surprised by the results.
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