Food for Thought: Physical vs. Emotional Hunger - What Are You Really Hungry For?

Posted By: HR avatar

Published to Newsletter on Apr 27, 2022

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Do you ever eat your feelings? It’s normal to confuse emotions like boredom, anxiety, sadness, or even excitement with hunger. But if it happens too often, this leads to overeating and can even worsen chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

It’s helpful to distinguish physical hunger from emotional hunger. Here are some common signs:

Once you recognize your hunger expressions, you can take charge of emotional eating. Use this step-by-step approach to help you decide if you really want to eat… or if your body is actually hungry for something other than food.

  1. Identify your hunger - Practice labeling your hunger as either physical or emotional.
  2. If you have physical hunger, go ahead and eat! - If your body needs nourishment, then the best way you can honor that is by eating.
  3. If it’s emotional hunger, you can still eat - Ask yourself if you’d still like to eat for comfort or entertainment. Acknowledge that this has nothing to do with physical nutrition, but as the owner of your body, you still have every right to choose to eat.
  4. Consider alternative responses - Most of the time, though, emotional hunger is best addressed with a non-food response. Look for distractions and other forms of comfort that you enjoy. You can go outside, talk to a friend, read a book, clean, start a hobby, do some exercise, watch TV, meditate, journal, or do just about anything else that isn’t eating.

All of this takes practice. But the good news is that it gets a little bit easier every time you do it. And it will help you take control of your cravings and find what your body is really hungry for.

Tags: hunger, Wellness