It’s been a rough day. The worst thing you could do is reach for the chocolate chip cookies that taste exactly like the ones you ate as a kid, right? Not necessarily, says Jennifer Rollin, founder of The Eating Disorder Center in Rockville, Maryland.
Emotionally driven hunger, also known as emotional hunger is often portrayed as something scary, unhealthy and out of control, but the truth is that it is very normal and can be part of a healthy relationship with food, according to the expert.
That said, there is a limit to when emotional eating can become unhealthy. But it’s important for people to embrace nuance when it comes to eating habits rather than adopting rigid rules and shame-based strategies, says Daisy Miller, a registered dietitian and eating disorder specialist in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
It may be time to put emotional hunger in proper perspective and learn to work with it, rather than against it, for a healthy relationship with food, experts say.
What is emotional hunger?
Food is inherently emotional, Rollin says. You can probably think of specific foods you eat as part of a cultural tradition, when you’re connecting socially or when you’re celebrating an accomplishment, she says.
“If you think about it, our lives revolve around food. Food can be really comforting, and many of us have built traditions across our cultures around foods that are nostalgic and sentimental,” says Miller.
Human bodies are also designed to enjoy food, so it makes sense that when you’re feeling strong emotions, you’d reach for something that tastes or feels good, Rollin says. There’s no shame in eating something you enjoy as one of the tools in your coping toolkit.
“We don’t feel ashamed about using other coping tools,” she adds. “Simply eating a food, sometimes for emotional reasons, is not a problem and it’s not something you need to judge or punish yourself for.”
Like most coping tools, context matters, Miller says. Are you eating to enjoy something delicious after a tough day or to celebrate a milestone? Or are you avoiding facing a bigger problem?
“We can never say this is completely good or completely bad without knowing the full picture of what’s going on in someone’s life,” he adds.
The problem of food as fuel
Shouldn’t we just remove the emotion from food and think of it as fuel to keep our bodies running? That mindset doesn’t always work, Rollin says. “Yes, food is fuel… and it provides energy for our brains and bodies, but it’s also so much more than that,” he says.
Sometimes when people focus too much on eating only the most nutrient-dense foods, they miss out on a lot of moments that involve food for enjoyment, socializing and connection, Rollin says.
“If our view is that food is just fuel, then it seems like going out for dessert with a friend when I’m not hungry might not be a ‘healthy option,’” she says. “However, we know that social relationships are actually one of the greatest predictors of health and longevity.”
Another concern is that too much restriction can often result in binge eating, according to Natalie Mokari, a registered dietitian in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Bingeing is usually a result of feeling like, ‘I shouldn’t do this, but I’m going to do it… and I’m going to binge because I’m never going to eat it again,’” says Mokari. “It’s kind of this feast or famine cycle.”
When to Worry About Binge Eating
There is, however, a limit to when emotional hunger becomes a problem. This usually happens when eating is a person’s primary way of coping, according to Miller.
It’s important to be mindful of how often you’re eating to cope with difficult emotions and whether you have other strategies for processing those emotions as well, the expert says.
Some warning signs that you’re relying too much on food to cope or engaging in binge eating include: eating larger amounts than most people in a short amount of time, feeling a loss of control, feeling guilt and shame, eating in secret and frequently eating well past the point of fullness, according to Rollin.
“If you are eating more than you feel comfortable eating, and then you are engaging in restriction or purging, or binge exercising, that would be another sign that your relationship with food is problematic,” she adds.
How to recalibrate
A healthy relationship with food is all about flexibility and balance, Mokari says. Can you give yourself permission to eat all kinds of foods without feeling out of control?
The first step toward a healthier relationship with emotional hunger is mindfulness, according to Rollin. Instead of restricting or reaching for food mindlessly, become aware of the purpose food is serving and what needs it’s meeting, she said.
Maybe you’re dealing with boredom or stress. Or maybe you want to participate in a family tradition or mark an occasion with a birthday cake.
This mindfulness can also be helpful when evaluating your values, Rollin says. Is it important to you to be known as someone who can go to a birthday party without eating cake? Or is it more important to make memories with the people you love? Are you someone who always avoids underlying issues? Or do you want to deal with them while also solving bigger problems?
The key is to evaluate your values, your approach, and your relationship with food with curiosity rather than judgment, Miller adds.
People can “think of it almost as if they’re a detective collecting data about themselves,” she said. “Is this something that’s becoming a problem? Is this something I’m dealing with just through food? Are there deeper layers here that need to be worked through?”
And whether you’re struggling with giving yourself permission to eat or binge eating, it can be helpful to seek help from a therapist or dietitian who works with eating disorders, weight-inclusive, and anti-diet camps, Miller says.
“Making sure you go to the right kind of professional is really important so that you can process some of the feelings that you’re having and not feel ashamed or guilty, or like you’re doing something wrong,” she added.
This content was originally published in Is emotional hunger bad for your health? See what experts say on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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