One of the most emotional moments in your life is when you are faced with a major change that you want or don’t want to make. Even if it’s for the better, change is a scary thing sometimes, especially if you don’t know what lies ahead and you’re not sure what to expect.
Naturally, right at these moments, you will be in a heightened emotional state. You’re going to be more stressed or sadder than you normally would, so this is an ideal time to eat emotionally.
For example, you could be in a bad or unhealthy relationship. You know you want to finish it, but a part of you is afraid that you have to. Whether it is retaliation from the other party, teasing among friends, or loneliness, there are many things that could worry you.
It’s easy to get caught up in the short-term negatives while ignoring the long-term positives. Before a time like this, you probably experience a lot of emotional urges to eat.
Jobs are another very common source of stress and stressful situations. If you have a job that you despise, you are definitely going to be stressed. The prospect of quitting your job is intimidating for sure, and even the thought of taking a new job is stressful.
This is another likely case where you will resort to emotional eating. The problem with emotional eating in these situations is that it involves ignoring an important decision in your life that needs to be made just because it makes you feel uncomfortable.
Sure, it’s more comfortable to eat a lot of junk food, but that won’t help you make the decisions you need to, or even transition from one thing to another after you’ve made a decision.
There are certain things in our lives that we have to do, even though we hate doing them. These difficult decisions are good examples of this. Even if you know you want to leave your partner, you may still be afraid to do it just because it’s uncomfortable.
However, that’s the way things are in life, and eating isn’t going to change that. What you can do is permanently damage your health. Even positive life changes like a move or marriage can lead to emotional eating because even though it is rooted in happiness, these times are still a source of stress based on an unknown future.
The sooner you learn to stop hiding behind food, the better. It’s a bandage, a temporary solution to a long-term problem. You need to be able to address these issues head on if you hope to have the chance to make a positive change forever and protect your health for longevity.