Studies show that the reason for overeating is 75% due to emotional state. While emotions manage the state of eating, the weight gained can also cause psychological problems. Saying that the most important key to getting rid of psychological, that is, emotional hunger, is awareness. Feyza Bayraktar underlines that mood-related disordered eating behaviors should be diagnosed by a specialist and a personalized treatment process should be determined.
The concepts of “emotional hunger” and “emotional eating”, which have been frequently heard recently, can be summarized as the tendency to eat when people are not physically hungry, especially when they have difficulty in managing their emotions.
Saying that eating is a tool used to escape from emotions such as loneliness, tension, anxiety, sadness and boredom, it will cause great problems. Feyza Bayraktar states that emotional eating can result in health-threatening weight gain, depressed mood, and even avoidance of socialization.
YOUR HUNGER MAY BE PSYCHOLOGICAL
Bayraktar says, “Eating during moments of boredom, tension, sadness or feeling alone does not only cause weight gain,” Bayraktar says, emphasizing that when the underlying causes of overeating problems are not resolved, it puts people in a vicious circle: “Emotional eating causes one’s focus to focus on the food and the fullness of the stomach, thus moving away from the distressed mood they are in. Afterwards, the person often feels remorse and guilt. Over time, it becomes a habit to have a snack when you are alone at home, to go to bed before your stomach is full and not be able to sleep. Overeating and subsequent feelings of guilt and regret push the person to eat even more; Thus, man finds himself in a difficult cycle to get out of.”
SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED
Bayraktar said that the reasons for emotional eating, which vary from person to person, can also be caused by many different psychological factors such as not being able to manage stress in a healthy way, lack of adequate social support, and constant self-criticism. therefore, it should not be neglected.
IT MUST BE DIAGNOSED AND TREATED BY A SPECIALIST
Stating that it is very important to evaluate the health status of the person by a physician and to determine whether there is a health problem that causes disordered eating behavior or not, Bayraktar said that starting the psychological support process as early as possible is the first step to be taken in order to overcome emotional eating. He continues: “Emotional eating, or in other words, mood-related disordered eating behavior, should be diagnosed by a specialist and a personalized treatment process should be determined.”