IS it happened to everyone, certainly to many: in a moment of great stress, we console ourselves with food. Whether it’s chocolate, ice cream or chips, in these cases you need to release the tension and for many this is the most effective and immediate way. Except then repent, if not downright ashamed, of what has been done. And the emotional hungernot a real need for an appetite but one activated feeling of emotions, usually negativewhich lead to voraciously eating.
Emotional hunger, what is it?
“Therefore not a physical need but an emotional, urgent and sudden one, technically called craying. Emotional hunger is triggered by emotions, usually disturbing, which lead to the search for and ingestion of “comforting food”, in a poorly controlled manner. It is the effective and quick solution to quell the discomfort experienced. Indeed it is not related to the classic “empty stomach” that you feel when you are physically hungry “explains the Dr. Michela Francia, psychotherapist, head of the Hospital Psychology Service of City of Lecce Hospital.
On a physical level, emotional hunger is in fact regulated by hedonic circuits which are «the pleasure centers that also regulate the intake of food. This is where the stimulus for the intake of rewarding foods such as sweets and chocolate comes from, which contains phenylethylamine, a substance that acts on these particular circuits. And this is where the so-called emotional hunger arises: you do not eat out of the need to take in nutrients, but are driven by the mechanisms of pleasure»Specifies the Dr. Antonio Caretto specialist in Endocrinology and Clinical Nutrition at Città di Lecce Hospital.
A different mechanism than physical hunger: activated by the hypothalamic circuits, it is the so-called “hunger for survival” induced by the actual need of the body to introduce food to survive. Furthermore, while physical hunger can be procrastinated, emotional hunger cannot because it is based on an urgent emotional need when you are upset.
The causes of emotional hunger
But what causes emotional hunger? Physically, appetite and mood are linked by the same neutrotransmitter, serotonin. Its low levels determine a deflection of the humoral tone. So it can be said that what you eat or not has an influence on your mood and emotions. Behind the emotional hunger, however, the discourse is even more complex.
First of all, this happens in extreme periods, or of strong stress or vice versa of relaxation. In the case of women, even in the premenstrual period when due to hormonal fluctuations you eat, in a very limited period, in a disorderly way »explains Dr. Francia.
The problem, however, is when this behavior becomes a routine: “In fact, when very intense emotions are activated that cannot be managed independently, immediate help is sought that can calm these disturbing emotional states. And food is one of themi, very usable in Western society and also accompanied by alcohol, drugs, cigarettes. That is anything that can lead to addiction and that in fact it does not solve the problems and difficulties that have produced the disturbing emotionsthus creating more serious consequences »continues Dr. France.
Snacks, chips and sweets are among the favorite foods of emotional hunger
The most sought-after foods in these cases? All this is “ready to use” such as snacks, chips, sweets, cold cuts and ice cream and the reason is very simple: in these moments it is looking for satisfying food by stimulating the production of serotonin, the neurotransmitter of good mood.
But the real problem comes later. Not just because frustration and guilt take over, but because we tend to fall back into this vicious circle, in addition to the fact that the abundant consumption of “junk” food causes physical consequences such as metabolic diseases and overweight.
“In fact, the physiology of our nutritional intake is very complex and requires that, after eating, signals are activated, including those from the stomach and intestines directed to the hunger regulatory centers located in the brain. These in response they perceive satiety and thus determine the termination of food intake. In emotional hunger, however, these mechanisms do not occur precisely because the pleasure centers that govern this type of sensation are activatedExplains Dr. Carretto.
How to check it?
“Emotional hunger is controlled first of all by trying to understand what the triggers were, learning to observe oneself and listening, wondering what are the emotions felt before feeling “hungry” and after eating food in an uncontrolled way. Furthermore, it is also crucial accept that emotions are not “dangerous” but rather help to understand each other better, for example, also with the help of breathing or relaxation exercises, bringing them back to a “more tolerable” space. Finally, learning to find alternative strategies: for example moving away from the places where food is more accessible and doing a pleasant and calming activity. A “preventive” strategy is that of avoid having “comforting” foods in the pantry. If these attempts aimed at modifying emotions, thoughts and behaviors in a more adaptive way fail, it is important to ask for help from a psychotherapist specialist “explains Dr. Francia.
In severe cases, when obesity takes over, it is also possible to intervene with drugs which act on the “hunger and satiety centers”: under strict medical supervision, they can be deployed regulatory strategies with drugs that act by inhibiting hunger and inducing satiety precocious concludes Dr. Caretto.
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