Food, Emotions, and What's Between Them

Emotional hunger (or emotional eating) is just what it sounds like: eating that arises from some emotion stirring within us. Often, this eating is unnecessary for our body, eating that our body (if it were given the choice) would prefer to avoid. Emotional eating is usually found more among women, but it is not unlikely to find it spreading among men as well (after all, who among us does not go through trials and hardships in life?).

In recent years, this field has gained momentum, and various interesting treatment methods have developed around it. Today, therapists can not only acknowledge the phenomenon but also provide extensive answers to questions that arise around it, with the first being how to identify emotional hunger, and then also how to deal with it. Despite the common perception that emotional eating is akin to binge eating, it's interesting to note that this category also includes situations where a person refrains from any eating as a result of some emotional state they are dealing with. 

So how do you recognize emotional hunger?

Firstly, it's important to understand that just as our stomach does not give us a warning before it feels hungry, the emotional stomach behaves the same with us – not only does it not give advance notice, it also charges at everything in its path. It can start with a piece of chocolate and end with a baguette with schnitzel, and it doesn't always stop there. This means that a state of emotional eating is an uncontrollable state, accompanied by a deep feeling of 'here and now.' Sometimes the emotional stomach will crave specific foods, sometimes it will focus on just one dish, but in the end, what it really asks for is something entirely different, more spiritual. The thing is, many times we simply confuse the stomachs and think it's physical hunger when it's actually emotional hunger, and not for nothing – immediately after the momentary eating surge, we are washed over with guilt, shame, and regret. 

How to deal?

Knowledge is power, and there is a significant difference between someone who 'knows' and someone who 'does not know' when it comes to taking action. When you know the symptoms, it’s easier to develop counter-tactics - so try to remember and memorize the following rules:

1. Emotional hunger always 'descends' like a thunderstorm on a clear day - quickly and without any announcement of its arrival. 

2. The demand of emotional hunger: "food in hand – and now." At those moments, it seems like a small, dependent child that won't leave you in peace until you satisfy its needs. 

3. Emotional hunger is boundless and brash. It will open all the cupboards in the home, rummage through every corner until it finds satisfaction. It doesn’t matter what crosses its path; it welcomes everything to its stomach. 

4. In certain cases, it will insist on specific food items, and then it will be the biggest nag in the world, dragging you to places you never thought you'd reach (a supermarket at the end of the city, for instance, that only sells that type of food). 

5. Emotional hunger is never satisfied with what it has. Even after it is fulfilled, full, and enjoyed – it will have something to say to you. Then it will bring up all similar experiences from the past and wrap you in a cloud of frustration, shame, and regret – because you 'succumbed' and ate.