Stress & Emotional Eating
Stress eating, is when we respond to stress by eating.
But why do we do it?
When we feel certain emotions such as anger, sadness, pain or anxiety our bodies experience a degree of stress. Short term stress can shut down our appetite as the nervous system pumps out adrenaline and triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response, temporarily putting eating on hold.
When stress persists, the hormone Cortisol is produced and released. Cortisol increases appetite and effects our food preferences. High fat, sugary or salty foods have a dampening effect on stress related responses and help us to RELAX. They also increase levels of serotonin and dopamine, brain chemicals responsible for mood regulation and pleasure. These foods really are ‘comfort foods’ and our bodies learn that food in response to stress is a good thing.
The hunger hormone Ghrelin, can also increases in some people when they are stressed, which further drives appetite and motivation to eat.
Eating in response too difficult emotions is not a bad thing, UNLESS it becomes your default and ONLY coping strategy.
STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING STRESS EATING
Create a self care menu – this is a list of alternative coping strategies that you can do when you are feeling heightened emotions, helping you to move more towards the person you want to be. Examples might include listening to a 5 minute meditation, going to bed at a certain time, or saying self kindness statements.
Grounding techniques – A technique to calm the nervous system to feel physically and emotionally centred. For example noticing and naming thoughts and feelings, grounding your physical body and connecting with physical space.
Meditation – When we give ourself the space to be present we move from fight or flight into a slow steady state. The amygdala (the part of the brain responsible for feelings of anxiety and stress) gets smaller when we meditate, meaning there is less space for anxious feelings.
Listen to music – Music has a powerful ability to light up the brain’s reward centre in the same way chocolate and alcohol can.