A stressful day at work? Then you deserve those fries in the evening, right?
Do you feel sad? Fortunately, there is that bar of chocolate to make you feel better quickly.
Recognizable? Then you probably also have your favorite comfort and reward foods?
Ok, now look at it this way:
Emo food = emotion + food
Emotion = disorder of the mind; (sudden) emotion
To eat = to take in food, to feed on
When you call yourself an emo eater, you choose to feed your emotions.
You probably don't do this consciously?
It happens without you wanting it and suddenly the entire bag of cookies is empty?
Now go back in time for a moment.
How long have you been doing this?
And does this behavior also work for you?
And do you really feel happier afterwards?
9 out of 10 chances that this is not the case.
But why does it still happen?
Habits are a repetition of a certain type of behavior that is rewarding. We do something that makes our brain produce dopamine. This is rewarding and ensures that we unconsciously continue to repeat that behavior.
So you are indeed not doing this consciously.
Your reptilian brain (the oldest part of your brain) comes into play here.
This part of your brain has only one purpose: to survive and reproduce. It reacts completely instinctively and completely irrationally.
Useful to ensure that you keep breathing, but less useful when it ensures that you keep sniffing. Because as long as you think you're an emo eater, your reptilian brain will identify with that. Your reptilian brain will do everything it can to continue to protect the person you think you are. Everything that does not fit within this picture is new, different and unsafe. Emotional eating is your safe comfort zone, and is fully protected by your reptilian brain.
These habits have kept you alive to this day, so if you do the same tomorrow, everything will remain safe.
That this will negatively affect your health in the long term? Unfortunately, the reptilian brain doesn't think that far...
In addition to your reptilian brain, the mammalian brain (emotional brain) is also not very helpful. This part of your brain helps you repeat behaviors that once made you feel happy (e.g., tasty food) and avoid behaviors that were once experienced as unpleasant (pain, sadness, fear).
This emotional brain acts irrationally and does not think about the longer term. You feel sad now. Sadness must be avoided. Good food is enjoyable. Now when I eat that bag of chips, I have fun again.
So it's all our brain's fault and there's nothing we can do about it?
No, we cannot continue to hide behind this either. Because in addition to the reptilian and mammalian brain, we also have our neocortex, which is very good at rational thinking.
Because fair. You really know that that bag of chips isn't going to make you happy. That rational and down-to-earth part is also in you.
How do you approach this in concrete terms?
STOP identifying yourself as an emo eater.
You “are” not an emo eater. Better yet, no one “is” an emo eater.
Create an identity for yourself that is workable. Stop hiding behind “that's just how I am”. As long as you continue to think and believe that, your reptilian brain will do everything it can to continue to protect this identity.
Become aware of your reptilian brain, recognize what is happening and make conscious choices.
Do you want to nourish your body? Or would you rather continue to feed those emotions?
Hanne De Wachter
Enforce Franchisee & Master Trainer
hanne@enforce.nl
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