Ua feast of bagged chips. Or caramel. Or even chocolates. Maybe pizzas. Emotional hunger, also called nervous hunger, is that mental rather than physical need to eat. But not as healthy foods as all those that tend to be bad for you, despite being delicious. So much so that you sabotage your own weight. What’s behind it? Almost always stress, sometimes difficulty, very often even the simple boredom of a moment.
Emotional hunger, what it is
Usually emotional hunger, which does not coincide with actual hunger and the actual need to eat, is above all a need for consolation and comfort. It’s a kind of need dictated by the mind and not by the body and happens in moments of greatest difficultyfor example of strong stress, or in those of boredom.
«But emotional hunger can also take over following a disappointment or a moment of nervousness» explains the Dr. Andrea Del Seppia, nutritionist at the Ravenna Medical Center by GVM Care & Research who continues «It is no coincidence that in these moments we go in search of the so-called “comfort food”for example sweet, ultra-processed, salty or fatty foods, very tasty and with a high caloric value, especially if consumed excessively, which are satisfying and have a comforting effect”.
Emotional hunger is therefore a mechanism that it is activated when you want to suppress or soothe negative emotions. If in some people moments of stress or discomfort cause moments of loss of appetite, in other people they stimulate a nervous and indeed emotional appetite. That is to say we eat distractedly, often quickly and even voraciously, precisely to vent frustrationthe nervousness or anger you feel. What you eat is defined as comfort food, from chips to sweets.
«In essence, it is a dysfunctional eating behavior in which food intake is a response to emotional states rather than a real physiological hunger regulated by hormonal, metabolic and gastrointestinal signals in addition to the necessary quantity of food. In these cases eating, often compulsive or continuous, becomes a way to calm down, soothe or suppress negative emotionsdistract the brain from the thoughts and moods that cause us, with the risk of triggering a vicious circle which in the worst case scenario can also degenerate into eating disorders such as binge eating.”
Eating to forget is not the solution. How to manage emotional hunger
Eating to forget or vent any strong emotions is never the solution, on the contrary. Not only because, in the long run, you risk finding yourself with excess kilos but above all because these binges are usually accompanied by guilt and a feeling of rejection of one’s body.
How to get out of this vicious circle? «The real objective is to go and investigate and resolve the discomforts that are at the basis of this dysfunctional relationship with food. For this reason thetherapeutic approach must be multidisciplinary and integrated, with the collaboration of a psychologist or psychotherapist, doctor and nutritionist. While the nutritionist works on nutritional re-education, restoring correct lifestyle and eating habits, to recognize and distinguish the stimuli of physical hunger from emotional hunger and signs of satiety, the doctor investigates any underlying pathophysiological conditions and the psychologist or psychotherapist accompanies the patient on a path of recognition, analysis and management of the emotional factors that trigger nervous hunger”.
This is why it is possible use some little tricks. First of all, you can keep a food diarywhere you can write down everything you eat, at what time and what sensation the food arouses. As well as indicating whether you are eating out of actual hunger or to vent some emotion. Another important detail is therefore learn to listen to your body, especially your stomach: if this person is not hungry, there is no need to eat. And if you do it it’s because you have an emotional need.
Manage stress
Furthermore, it is fundamentallearn to manage stress, the main cause of cortisol production which interferes with the increase in appetite, the accumulation of visceral fat and the regulation of Leptin, a hormone produced by adipose tissue, which has the function of sending satiety messages to the brain when energy reserves are adequate. In the subjects who suffer from nervous hunger, especially if overweight or obese, have leptin resistance, which makes the brain less receptive to satiety stimuli. So go ahead for those activities that relax and satisfy usinducing the release of serotonin, a feel-good hormone such as sport, long walks outdoors, but also yoga and meditation.”
It is important in these cases drink enough, not only water but also herbal teas and teas that can be taken in moments of break and relaxationfor example in the afternoon. An excellent excuse, for example, to take a break for a moment and thus reduce any frustrations or sense of emotional hunger. As emotional hunger is also often caused by boredom, it is important to learn to keep it at bay by doing something else: reading, distracting yourself, getting up to stretch your legs, playing with your pet, talking to a friend.
“In the end let’s avoid buying and stocking up on foods at home that can create addiction and let’s replace them with clean, low-calorie fresh vegetables to keep available in the refrigerator for when hunger pangs attack us. And also of overindulge in fruit, which being sugary would increase your daily calorie intake also contributing to weight gain.” It’s also important start eating with gusto again and above all not completely depriving yourself of your comfort foods but knowing how to manage themeating them once in a while.