Emotional eating
Emotional eating
The relationship between emotions and eating
Hello :),
How was your week? This Sunday, I am in my hometown. It’s been a year since I’ve been here. It all feels so odd when you have left your country young. You don’t quite belong anymore, but you are not fully home in your resident country. Sometimes, I feel like I have lost what is called “home.” Versions of me belong to different cultures and countries now.
Since I am clearly a bit emotional, let’s discuss how emotions impact our ability to make lifestyle changes and our eating behaviours.
Emotions
Emotions are complex states that involve three key parts: what we feel inside, how our bodies react, and how we show these feelings through our actions or expressions. They are our mind and body’s way of communicating about what’s happening around us.
Emotions can range from happiness, sadness, and anger to surprise, fear, and disgust. While we might label some emotions as “good” or “bad” - all emotions are essential to our daily functioning. They can provide important information influencing our decisions, behaviours, and interactions with others.
How do emotions show up in our day-to-day lives?
Emotions can vary in intensity and can be either fleeting or persistent. According to Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, emotions physiologically last for only about 90 seconds. Any emotion felt beyond that results from our thoughts and stories about the emotion itself. This understanding highlights the importance of how we interpret and react to our emotional experiences and how we regulate these.
Emotion regulation is important because it allows us to manage our emotional responses and maintain behaviours that align with our values and long-term goals. By learning to regulate our emotions, we can choose how to respond rather than reacting impulsively. I admit I am still working on this. Especially the rollercoaster the PCOS sometimes offers us.
Many of us might struggle to identify and express our emotions, particularly challenging ones, due to early life experiences or cultural norms. For instance, being told not to cry when sad can invalidate our emotions and hinder our ability to process them healthily. Similarly, societal beliefs that men should not express vulnerability can lead to difficulties in emotional regulation.
Recent research suggests that our beliefs about emotions are as important as the emotions themselves. If we view emotions as obstacles, it can negatively affect our well-being. On the other hand, seeing emotions as valuable information can enhance our quality of life. Understanding that emotions are a natural part of the human experience and can provide valuable insights helps us navigate them more effectively.
Emotional eating
When it comes to making healthy choices, emotions play an essential role. It's common to start changing our food and exercise routine only to be triggered by an emotion that leads to responding in a way that doesn't support our long-term goals. For instance, we may have been making healthy choices all day, and then something happens at work that leaves us feeling stressed and in need of comfort. Food is a well-known coping mechanism for strong emotions.
When we consume certain foods, particularly those high in sugar, fat, and salt, our brain releases dopamine. Dopamine is often referred to as the "feel-good" neurotransmitter. When it’s released, it creates a sense of pleasure and satisfaction.
Over time, our brain associates these foods with comfort and positive feelings. We seek out those foods to experience that pleasure again and again. This is how habits form.
Trigger: An emotion such as stress, sadness, or boredom.
Behaviour: Eat that food (e.g. cakes, biscuits, crisps)
Reward: The release of dopamine creates a feeling of pleasure and helps us navigate that emotion in the short term.
Reinforcement: The brain associates comfort food with relief from negative emotions.
This cycle can be challenging to break because the brain’s reward system is powerful. Each time we turn to comfort food, we reinforce the neural pathways that associate these foods with those feel-good feelings.
Why do we gravitate towards certain foods?
Not all foods trigger the same dopamine response. Foods high in sugar, fat, and salt are particularly effective at triggering dopamine release.
These foods are often referred to as "hyper-palatable" because they are designed to be highly appealing and rewarding. The food industry frequently capitalises on this by creating products that combine sugar, fat, and salt in ways that lead us wanting more.
These foods are often the ones we label as “bad” and don't provide much nourishment. And it’s true - it is those types of food that we want to be mindful of how much we’re consuming and the foods that we want to be more intentional about.
However, it's common to try to cut these foods out in an attempt to reach our long-term goals. This level of restriction can lead to a cycle of restricting and overeating because it makes us crave that food even more.
So, when making lifestyle changes, we must be mindful of how we talk about certain foods. If we eat the foods we think are “bad,” then we think we’re bad—when, in fact, that’s not true!
We also want to be in tune with our emotions, recognise the triggers that lead to unhealthy food choices, and develop ways of coping with those emotions that help us meet our needs and reach our long-term goals.
Changing the response
Changing food choices in response to emotions can be challenging, especially when seeking comfort. We often form neural connections between certain emotions and our behaviours to cope with them. For instance, eating comfort food when feeling sad or stressed is a learned behaviour that can be difficult to change.
To address this, it’s essential to develop healthier coping mechanisms. This might involve:
Identifying Triggers: Understanding what emotions lead to unhealthy eating habits.
Developing Alternatives: Finding other ways to cope with these emotions, such as exercise, hobbies, or social interactions.
How can you get started with understanding emotions?
Label Your Emotions: Practice identifying and naming your emotions. This can help you understand them better and manage your responses. One of my favourite tools is the emotions wheel. This a visual tool designed to identify and talk about emotions more precisely. It typically consists of a circle divided into sections, with basic emotions in the centre and more complex, nuanced emotions branching outwards. The wheel can help you identify the exact emotion you're experiencing, allowing you to choose appropriate coping strategies and responses.
Reflect on Triggers: Consider what situations or thoughts trigger certain emotions and how they influence your behaviour.
Develop Coping Strategies: Create a list of healthy coping mechanisms to use when you experience challenging emotions. This can be taking a few breaths, calling a friend, going for a walk, doing your nails, etc.
Seek Support: Reach out for professional help or support from friends and family.
I hope you have enjoyed this article.
See you next Sunday!
Francesca
www.pcos-clinic.com
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_you_think_about_your_emotions_matters
Disclaimer: We are all unique in our ways, so this information is for educational purposes only. In my communications, I summarise research data and bring my experience. This shouldn’t be viewed as medical advice at any point. Please further consult your healthcare provider about your health needs.