The term emotional hunger comes from the fact that many people overeat due to being emotionally unsatisfied.
The happiness of grace is the feeling of awe and gratitude.
The happiness of excellence comes from pursuing something greater than our current circumstances.
God & Man
However, not all of these happinesses are created equally.
Some are harder to attain than others.
Thats why people compensate with food and drink in place of effort and grit.
But as Greitens says, too much red can never make blue.
Pleasures can never make you whole.
Most people confuse emotional hunger forliteralhunger and use overeating as a means of coping.
These are the signs that youre experiencing emotional hunger:
1.
You struggle with overeating.
When you venture to stop overeating, you feel an overwhelming sense of panic and dread.
The idea of food or eating is the only thing that makes you feel excited during the day.
When you overeat, you feel soothed and grounded.
You experience particular cravings.
Emotional hunger requires that you eat something very specific, while real hunger does not.
When you are eating because you are emotionally hungry, the feeling is in your chest or head.
When youre really hungry, the feeling is in your stomach.
There is a sense of urgency.
As a child, you may have used food to feel good.
You associate food with being loved or being happy.
If you think back, your fondest memories always have to do with eating.
You are at least somewhat aware that theres a part of your life you are unhappy with.
You are generally afraid of your feelings.
For example, your biggest anxiety is the idea of being anxious.
Its easy for you to think the worst about any situation, or let your irrational thoughts spiral.
You reward yourself with food.
You have a tendency to numb yourself or temporarily blackout while youre eating.
You realize that you consume more than others do, and feel shame about it.
She says:
Counting calories is not the answer, because eating is not the problem.
Instead of trying to police, shame and force yourself into eating less, try the opposite approach.
You have to be specific.
Once you understand what the feeling is, you then need to go through a process of discernment.
In other words, its a matter of asking yourself:Is this real?
When you make a run at rationalize an irrational fear, you give it more life.
Instead, its more effective to work on remembering that its not reality.
You should instinctively know where it came from and what it means.
If not, there are therapists that can help you do this, too.
What would I do each day if I didnt have any anxiety or stress?
What is something healthy I do that makes me feel genuinely happy?
Where do I want to be in 5 years?
What daily actions would bring me to that place?
What action plans can I develop so that the fear of something happening isnt ruling me anymore?
In what ways am I feeling exhausted and burnt out in life?
What would my ideal day realistically look like?
How can I bring more fulfillment and joy to my everyday life?
Do I need to make radical changes or subtle shifts?
- Who can help me through this process?
Storing weight is the physiological way the body makes itself feel secure for the future.
You are not broken or irreparably damaged because you have had this struggle.
Human beings need love as much as they need anything else to be sustained.
Without it, our spirits starve and give a shot to compensate by consuming something else.
