Why do I feel compelled to satisfy hunger with food even when I'm not actually hungry? How can I improve emotional eating?

Hello, host. I hope my answer helps.

I was like that in the years after I gave birth. When I had nothing to do, I felt bored and worthless. I would often eat without realizing it, and I got fatter. I became self-conscious because I was fat. Looking back, I really did have low energy, and I didn't know that there were other ways to deal with emotions besides eating. Now, I no longer use eating to dispel my boredom. Instead, I lead a more fulfilling life every day. I believe you can adjust too.

Here are my suggestions:

Be aware of how eating satisfies your needs.

You said you're not hungry, but you eat to fill an emptiness. Eating is related to our emotions. When we're sad, angry, or bored, we eat. We often use food to satisfy needs, but eating doesn't always satisfy them. Eating too much makes us fat.

Be aware of how eating satisfies your needs. Are there better, healthier ways to satisfy them?

2. Use reasonable ways to release and relieve emotions, not food.

Eating releases emotions, but it's only temporary and can harm the body. We can relieve stress and emotions with these methods:

If you need to escape from pain, you can write about your feelings and thoughts. You don't need to worry about how neat your handwriting is. Just express yourself freely. You can also talk to someone about your worries and feel the love and support of your friends.

If you're self-negating, improve your sense of self-worth, give yourself positive feedback, and practice self-affirmation. Read books like "Accept Yourself: Transcend Your Inherent Weaknesses" and "Accept Your Imperfections" to improve your thinking.

If you're sad because of someone, find someone you want to connect with and talk to them.

Expressing our needs helps us feel less oppressed.

If you need to release anger, you can do so through exercise or by using stress balls, pillows, or sandbags. You can also use the empty chair technique to release emotions.

3. Set goals to become rich, fulfilled, and confident.

I felt inferior because I didn't grow during that period. Later, I regained my confidence by setting and achieving goals.

Set goals, make a daily list, and complete it step by step. If you persevere, you will become more confident.

How do you make a daily list?

Break your big goals into smaller goals and then into daily tasks.

Make a daily list by starting with easy tasks and ending with difficult ones. You can do shorter activities in between longer ones. Praise yourself for following the schedule.

These schedules include tasks, people, and places.

These activities should be enjoyable, not too difficult, and match your abilities.

Here's my daily schedule:

Wake up at 6:40.

6:40-7:00 Listen to a book while doing dishes.

7:00-7:10 Read and share online.

7:10-7:30 Record lessons and exercise.

7:30-8:30 Breakfast, kids to school.

8:30-11:30 Housework while listening to the course.

Lunch: 11:30-12:30

12:30-1:30 Watch TV.

Take a nap from 13:30 to 14:30.

14:30-17:00 Write articles, answers, and courseware

The rest of the day is free. I usually do the following: listen to lectures, write an article, maintain our online camp, do housework, exercise, help my child with homework, and write three good things that happened today. Sometimes I have to go to school or the studio.

I started checking off tasks as I finished them. I noticed that I was growing. Writing things down helps too. It's easier to focus on doing things well. This saves willpower.

When you're busy doing things you enjoy and feel good about what you've done, you'll be less obsessed with food. You'll devote yourself to your interests and won't need to compensate for a lack of food through excess.

This is just a reference. I hope it helps. Best wishes.

Have a lovely weekend. I'll send you my best wishes.

It seems that there are three main reasons for emotional eating. The first is psychological emptiness, the second is stress relief, and the third is a lack of control.

The first two are relatively straightforward to understand. Food, especially sweet food, has the potential to make our brains produce more dopamine, which can make us feel happy. However, this can also lead to challenges. Once we finish eating, we still have to face the problems that exist, and feelings of guilt can arise.

For many people, it can be challenging to find control over other aspects of life, such as work or study. However, eating is something we are born with and have the most control over.

For instance, some adolescents may experience a falling out with their parents and subsequently engage in a hunger strike. There are other potential reasons for this behavior, and it's understandable that he may feel powerless to address the underlying issues.

If he doesn't eat, his parents may be unsure of how to proceed, unless they are willing to watch their child starve to death. As long as the parents don't want their child to starve to death, they may decide to compromise, and the child may regain a little control from their parents.

The reason for not eating is similar to the reason for eating: it may be challenging to control other aspects of our lives, but we can take charge of what we put into our bodies. This can help us feel more in control of our lives.

However, it is important to note that emotional eating may not be the most effective solution for addressing our challenges and may not provide the sense of control we seek.

Habit:

It might be helpful to keep food away from you. Perhaps it would be best to avoid keeping snacks in the house, especially those high in sugar and fat. You could have some nuts instead.

If you find yourself feeling the urge to eat, it might help to distract yourself by going for a walk or taking a deep breath.

It might be helpful to keep yourself busy. Many people find that when they are busy, they don't have time to think about snacking.

From a psychological perspective, it may be helpful to consider the following:

It might be helpful to look for success, even if it is only a small one. For example, you could try finishing reading 20 pages of a book today, writing it down, and sticking it somewhere visible. You could also try remembering some success every day. Gradually, you may find that you regain a sense of control through these small successes.

You might also consider speaking with a counselor.

I am a counselor who experiences periods of depression and periods of positivity. I believe that the world has many wonderful things to offer.

Hello! Give a hug to the beauty-conscious person who is looking for a way to get rid of emotional eating.

Let's take a quick look at your situation together.

1. It's great that you want to take control of your emotional eating. It shows you're aware of the problem and want to work on it.

2. You find yourself always wanting to eat even when you're not hungry. This is a great sign that you have a good sense of self-awareness! You feel one part of you wants to eat, while another part says, "I'm not hungry now!"

3. It's not about filling your stomach, but about seeking inner satisfaction. I totally get where you're coming from. You want to satisfy your inner emptiness and sense of failure through food.

Let's dive in and see what's really going on here to find ways to make things better!

1. Let's start by looking at the difference between "hungry" and "starving." We often use "hungry" to indicate a physical lack of food. For example, we might say we're hungry, hungry as if thirsty, or hungry for anything. This means that our stomach is empty and needs nourishment.

Eating in this situation will make you feel really happy afterwards! But "hunger" is different. The right side of "hunger" is "I," which shows the need for "food" and a desire to eat (see Xu Wenbing's "Self-Care Tibetan Medicine").

It's totally normal to want to eat when you're not hungry. It's just your body's way of telling you it needs something. And after eating, you might feel a bit conflicted. You'll get a little bit of a "huh, that was satisfying" feeling, and it'll be like your bad mood just melted away. But then, you'll also feel physically uncomfortable, like you're full and bloated. And then, you'll start thinking about how you'll gain weight and regret it. It's okay, we've all been there!

2. So, I like to think of emotional eating as a way of filling a spiritual need. It's a way of comforting and soothing emotions through food. In other words, eating has become a way of healing inner emotions.

In today's world of plenty, this is a simple way to achieve this. However, the effect isn't always obvious. After the initial rush, it can lead to weight gain, a sense of emptiness, regret, and a loss of control. For some, it might even increase financial stress.

I think you've been through this and you don't want it to keep happening, so you're looking for a way to make it go away.

3. It's clear that what we need is not just food, but nourishment for our souls. The real issue is not about eating, but about how we can nourish ourselves spiritually. It's about finding the right way and the right methods to bring spiritual food into our lives.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory shows us that our human needs range from the lowest to the highest. These include our physiological needs, our safety needs, our need for belonging and love, our need for respect, and our need for self-realization. The good news is that the first two needs are relatively easy to satisfy! The latter three, on the other hand, can be classified as spiritual.

4. From what I've seen, though, it seems that many folks in the modern world aren't getting the first two needs met very well. Things like eating well, getting enough sleep, going to the bathroom regularly, exercising regularly — all those things that make up a healthy, vibrant lifestyle — are often out of reach for a lot of people.

It's so important to meet our physiological needs, as they can cause a lot of emotional problems if they're not met. For instance, not sleeping well can lead to anger, overeating can make the body feel insecure, and a lack of exercise can lead to a decline in vitality. It's also really tough to achieve safety needs in this era of rapid change and information explosion.

I'm not sure what your personal situation is like, but I'm here to help! On a physical level, it's so important to take care of yourself and prioritize your normal physical needs. This will bring you a great sense of happiness! For example, start by having regular meals every day, eating well, and not playing with your phone while eating.

When you feel good about yourself, you'll feel a real sense of satisfaction. At this time, when you look at the outside world, you'll feel beautiful, with a lot less emotion, and you'll feel like you're full up!

5. If emotional problems are caused by the failure to meet the latter three needs, don't worry! They can also be improved little by little. In terms of belonging and love, communicate more with family, relatives, and friends, use the principle of "give what you want to receive first" in interactions, treat friends sincerely, and exchange sincerity for sincerity.

We're social creatures, and we all crave connection. There's nothing quite like the feeling of belonging to a sincere relationship. It's a great way to feel satisfied! We all need respect and the chance to realize our potential. We feel useful when we're doing a good job and contributing to society. So, do your best at work and see it as a way to feel worthy and valued, not just for the paycheck.

These words are pretty "empty," and this is a very high spiritual demand. It's like a mountain peak: not many people want to climb to the top, and even fewer are able to do so. But once you achieve it, it may bring a very high sense of inner satisfaction, and I'm looking forward to it as well!

I really hope you can find spiritual fulfillment through the real action of "finding joy in yourself." It's so important to love yourself, even though it's not always easy. I wish you the best of both worlds: love to eat and love to look good!

Hello! I understand your feelings. Many people have had this experience. Sometimes you eat because you are tired or depressed. Sometimes you eat because you feel hurt. After each meal, you feel bad about yourself. Your emotions are caught in a vicious cycle. You feel out of control.

You may feel stuck, but asking this question helps you move forward. From a psychoanalytical point of view, using food to cope may be due to unmet needs during the oral stage. We understand this, but we don't have to solve it in a primitive way.

Be aware of your emotions. When you feel like eating or drinking, ask yourself if you are really hungry or if it is something else.

What are you feeling right now? Name the bad feelings and say them out loud.

Once you know what you really feel, you'll understand what you really need. This is a quick way to stop emotional eating, but it will become a habit. We may also lack a connection with ourselves. Our inner needs don't reach our consciousness. We feel uncomfortable but don't know why, so we reflect it on the physical level. The stomach reacts to our mood. If we're aware of this, we can ask ourselves how we're feeling. We can also ask what makes us happy, what makes us uncomfortable, and what makes us stressed. This helps us take care of our mental health.