Eating Disorders

Many things in life will cause your stress to rise. Often, your response to this stress is to grab a snack. This is one of the most diagnosed responses to stress. Adults often admit that this has become a habit. Stress eating can have many negative health effects such as diabetes and high blood pressure. It is important to understand stress eating and how to overcome this habit. We must also remember that we were not created to worry. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:34, NASB The cause of stress-eating Stress-eating is nothing new. It has been a way of coping with stress for many people. While it is caused by stress, other factors can be attributed to stress eating. When you are feeling overwhelmed by anger, fear, or other emotions related to situations this can produce an increase in cortisol. Cortisol is the stress hormone of our bodies. It can increase glucose, determine how our bodies use this glucose, and reduce inflammation. When our bodies are stressed, cortisol is released. Cortisol also releases another hormone, ghrelin, that is linked to an increase in our appetites. This is the hormone responsible for our increased appetite during stressful times. The most common craving is carbohydrates which explains why we want those sweets when we are stressed and not hungry. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7, NASB Signs of stress-eating One of the most common signs of stress-eating is that you are always grabbing that favorite [...]

Stress eating is a common response to life’s problems. Whether we call it stress eating or emotional eating, we’re often plagued with the desire to eat for comfort, especially in the modern world where hyper-palatable, inexpensive food is readily available everywhere we turn.Unfortunately, while not all stress eating is inherently harmful, overeating due to stress can have negative impacts on your health. Also, eating while in a state of stress is not good for your digestion. Stress eating is a form of avoidance, so the problem that led you to eat won’t actually get solved, and the emotion won’t get processed.If stress eating is having a negative effect on your life, keep reading to find out more about solutions and alternatives.What is stress eating?The term stress eating can be used interchangeably with the term emotional eating. Stress eating” points to the trigger, and emotional eating describes an overall pattern of eating according to mood.Let’s be clear: most people’s eating habits are influenced by their emotions to some level, and that’s okay.What we want to avoid is a consistent, habitual pattern of using food to self-soothe to an unhealthy extent, instead of primarily using food to fulfill our nutritional and energy needs, for moderate enjoyment, and for community and celebration.Let’s break that down. Stress eating can be harmful when:It is a consistent and habitual pattern.It involves using food as a coping mechanism for negative emotions and experiences, often in place of other, healthier coping mechanisms.The focus is on self-soothing rather than nutrition, connection with others, and traditions/celebration. Eating for connection, traditions, and celebration is seen throughout history and in all of the healthiest cultures in the world today, and it provides a more stable basis for our food consumption than we find in stress or emotional eating.HelpGuide defines emotional eating this [...]