Specialist Dyt and Specialist. Clinical Psychologist Merve Öz said, “We all head to the kitchen from time to time with a feeling of hunger. But does this hunger always arise from our body’s needs, or is it an attempt to fill an emotional void such as fatigue, stress or loneliness?
“Knowing the difference between emotional and physical hunger can help us reconsider both our eating habits and emotional balance,” he said. Specialist Dyt and Specialist. Clinical Psychologist Öz gave information about making this distinction, which may result in overweight. Reminding that emotional hunger causes excessive calorie intake and that if the emotional eating problem is not solved, it will be very difficult to reach the target weight, and even if the target weight is reached, it will be very difficult to stay at this weight. Öz said that after emotional hunger is noticed, it is absolutely necessary He said precautions should be taken.
‘POSITIVE EMOTIONS ALSO CAUSE EMOTIONAL HUNGER’
Specialist Dyt. Specialist Clinical Psychologist Merve Öz gave the following information on the subject:
“Emotional nutrition; It is when a person reacts to events and situations by eating rather than hunger. It is when a person eats to suppress negative emotions and bring out positive emotions. In other words, negative emotions such as stress, distress, and sadness do not only cause emotional hunger. Positive emotions such as happiness and joy also cause emotional hunger. Physical hunger is; It is when a person eats because he is truly hungry. Physical hunger is also called biological hunger and is necessary to sustain life. People can understand whether hunger is physical hunger by following symptoms such as stomach rumbling, weakness, darkening of the eyes, and tremors.”
‘IF YOU SPEND YOUR WHOLE DAY PLANNING WHAT TO EAT, YOU MAY BE EXPERIENCED EMOTIONAL HUNGER.’
“If you still want to eat something even though you have just eaten, the situation you are experiencing may be emotional hunger. “In this case, ask yourself when was the last time you said food and whether you were really hungry,” Öz said and continued: “Also, do you look for food when you are stressed, bored or very happy?” Eating to increase positive emotion and suppress negative emotion indicates that you are experiencing emotional hunger. Or, take a look at yourself; Do you eat junk food in the drawer at work during stressful times? When you come home from work and the kids are asleep, do you find yourself in front of the TV with food in your hand? Or do you spend your entire day planning what to eat in the time you have left over from the day? If the answer to these questions is yes, it means you are also experiencing emotional hunger.”
‘IF YOU EAT WITH THE HOPE OF PLEASURE, IT MEANS YOU HAVE EMOTIONAL EATING PROBLEM’
Öz said that a person experiencing emotional hunger actually turns to food to re-experience the pleasure he/she used to experience, and added: “For example, if the chips you ate in front of the TV raised your emotional state a little, you would expect the same performance from the same food again. Thus, you develop the habit of eating chips in front of the television. But sometimes the same food may not give the same pleasure. Because; Many factors such as the movie or TV series you watch, the place, the weather and the people around you increase the pleasure you get from food. Therefore, before consuming a food, ask yourself, “Do I really want to eat this, or am I eating it in the hope of the pleasure it will give?” If you eat with the hope of getting pleasure, you have an emotional eating problem. Is the short-term pleasure of food worth the calories you consume? Will you regret it after eating it? “After asking yourself these questions, decide whether you will eat the food or not,” he said.
‘CREATE A TO-DO LIST INSTEAD OF EATING DURING STRESS’
Explaining that after emotional hunger is detected, the person should find different activities that will make him/her happier instead of preoccupying himself with eating, Öz said, “First of all, a to-do list should be prepared and this list should be taken into consideration instead of eating during times of stress. The list must consist of at least 10 items. Among the things that can be done; It could be drinking coffee, tea or water, reading a book, listening to music, dancing, watching a movie, taking a walk, changing the environment, doing a relaxation exercise, seeing a loved one, doing a breathing exercise, painting or whatever you like to distract you from eating. . These activities will shift your focus from eating to other activities that provide dopamine. “Never forget that this hunger is temporary,” he said.
‘MEALS THAT TAKE LONGER THAN 20 MINUTES INCREASE SATISFACTION’
Merve Öz said, “If the desire to eat is still not gone after trying every item on this list, food should be eaten as a last resort.” and gave some suggestions on this subject:
“It should not be forgotten that the satiety signal to the brain goes away after 20 minutes, and meals lasting 20 minutes and longer than 20 minutes will increase satiety. Whatever you eat should be eaten slowly and with awareness of what you are eating. “If you still experience emotional hunger after applying all these, it would be useful to investigate the underlying causes of your emotional hunger with the help of a psychotherapist who is an expert in his field.”
(DHA)