Emotional eating is expressed as a tendency to eat behavior that occurs in response to certain emotional states. Emotional eating behavior usually occurs as a result of stress, anxiety, fear, boredom, sadness, loneliness or feelings of inadequacy. When the desire to suppress negative emotions and eating behavior collide, the desire to eat to feel strong or to forget emerges. It is possible to observe eating behavior as a way of coping with the intense emotions experienced due to stress caused by daily life events or sudden unexpected events. While emotional eating was previously associated with individuals who exhibited excessive eating behavior, it is now suggested that emotional eating behavior may also occur in dieters. (Maggard, Shugarman, Suttorp, Maglione,2015)
There are many factors that affect eating behavior. But it is difficult to predict how emotions affect eating. The relationship between eating and emotions may vary depending on the state of emotions or the characteristics of the individual. Physical hunger and emotional hunger symptoms are different from each other. In case of physical hunger, the individual's stomach may become irritated and his/her blood sugar may drop. The individual reaches satiety as he eats. Hunger satisfaction behavior is different from an individual with emotional eating behavior. For example, an individual consumes fruits, vegetables, etc. He can satisfy his hunger with a low-energy food or snack such as: Physical hunger develops gradually. When a person eats because he is hungry, the options are greater and more qualified. In other words, it is a meal that includes vegetables, meat, chicken or fish, soup, rice or pasta, and yoghurt.
The opposite is true for emotional hunger. Emotional hunger begins suddenly and does not cause physical symptoms. The individual eats whatever he finds and prefers foods with high energy value (Sevinçer, Konuk, 2013). Emotional hunger is something that must be satisfied immediately. But physical hunger can wait. If he is eating to meet an emotional need even though his stomach is full, he will most likely continue eating. But if he is eating because he is hungry, he will stop when he is full. Emotional eating syndrome, followed by feelings of guilt r. It does not leave physical hunger.
Causes of emotional eating;
-Loneliness, the need for attention and love, getting rid of negative emotions.
-Overeating caused by positive emotions. (celebration)
-When we feel bad, we give ourselves to eating to get rid of negative emotions. Then, every time we have a negative emotion, we resort to eating to get rid of that emotion, and thus we fall into a vicious circle.
-The feeling of positive emotion that comes after meals eaten for reward purposes, such as celebrations, keeps the person for a while. Then it prompts you to eat to experience that feeling again.
What you really need to discover about yourself is what you were thinking and feeling before the moment when you suddenly found yourself in food. Because those thoughts and feelings lead you to the next stage, that is, eating behavior. Another important point is; It's about what you replace the food with. However, psychological problems such as chronic stress, depression, panic attacks, and eating disorders may underlie some emotional eating attacks. In such cases, the help of an expert psychologist or psychiatrist should be sought and medical support should be provided if necessary.
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