EMOTIONS AND PSYCHOLOGY AROUND FOOD CRAVINGS SNACKING, OR EMOTIONAL EATING

EMOTIONS AND PSYCHOLOGY AROUND FOOD CRAVINGS SNACKING, OR EMOTIONAL EATING

As a psychologist, here are some reasons behind emotional eating, snacking, and food cravings;

Situational determinants

The most common are stress and hunger, and they tend to influence ones eating habits. People link an increase in stress levels to hunger feelings when facing stressful situations. This can make you dive into unhealthy eating habits as you strive to lower stress and hedonic hunger.

Psychological factors such as;

Restrained eating – limiting and monitoring can make you focus or spend many hours thinking about meals which can trigger cravings and emotional eating, especially when stressed or in bad moods.

Cognitive reappraisal can also increase these unhealthy habits.

A high sensitivity and response towards food are associated with snacking, and emotional eating as people eat more to elevate their moods.

Impulsive habits where people eat without minding the food or drinks they take and the effects on their body can contribute to these unhealthy eating traits. Being overweight, having high emotional sensitivity, and hormonal changes can make you snack or crave unhealthy foods.

Barbara is a freelance writer and a sex and relationships adviser at Dimepiece LA and Peaches and Screams. Barbara is involved in various educational initiatives aimed at making sex advice more accessible to everyone and breaking stigmas around sex across various cultural communities. In her spare time, Barbara enjoys trawling through vintage markets in Brick Lane, exploring new places, painting and reading.

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