Have you ever felt low in life and started binging on unnecessary food? Or do you stress-eat out of your frustration or anxieties? We know what might be bothering you. Many of us observe stress eating out of any emotional or spiritual discomfort. By understanding the spiritual reasons for stress eating, we can minimize this habit because stress eating is unhealthy for the body.
Emotional eating and spiritual well-being are closely connected concepts. You might not know how food is satisfying for the human body and how we can feel comfort after consuming food. And this might be the reason why people often choose food rather than therapies when they seek emotional or spiritual ease. This is why I will discuss some critical spiritual hunger concepts today.
Spiritual Reasons for Stress Eating
Have you ever heard of the spirit of gluttony? It is defined as the pattern of indulgence or consumption that goes beyond limits and lacks good reasons. It is the act of idleness, over-eating, and not even finding satisfaction. And this concept is closely related to stress eating, where people over-consume themselves with food despite being full.
But before knowing the spiritual reasons for stress eating, let’s first discover what emotional eating is and what causes it.
What Is Meant By Emotional Eating?
Have you ever ordered a burger, grabbed a dessert, rushed to your pantry out of boredom or sadness, or stopped by the drive-through after a trying day at the office? You are stress eating.
Physical appetite is not only the reason behind your eating. We can also use food as a comfort, a way to unwind, or reward. However, many of us frequently turn to sugary snacks, fast food, and other soothing food that might be detrimental to our health.
Emotional eating is consuming food to satisfy emotional rather than physical demands. And what is more disturbing is that emotional eating doesn’t address emotional issues. In reality, it usually poses a discomfort when we stuff ourselves with more than we need. As a result, our emotional problem persists, and we additionally feel bad for overindulging.
What are the Spiritual Causes of Stress?
Spirituality is related to the soul, and anything that disturbs the peace of our soul can also disturb our minds, emotions, and bodies. In that case, people who are going through emotional disturbances do things they should not be doing. They engage in activities that might be harmful or unhealthy for their bodies. And stress eating is not an exception.
A spiritual or emotional discomfort causes stress eating. You might notice that you eat food even if you are complete, and there can be various reasons behind this behavior. Some of them are:
- Restlessness,
- Unease,
- Emptiness,
- Boredom,
- Purposelessness,
- Meaninglessness,
- Lack of personal fulfillment and a desire for life to be more than what it is,
- Feeling lost in life,
- Lack of motivation or inspiration,
- Loneliness.
Eating to Regulate Emotions: Does it Works?
How do people define ‘overeating spiritual meaning’? If I look into its meaning, I can say that people often eat when they are full. Despite knowing they are not hungry, people consume food out of their spiritual discomfort, another name for spiritual hunger. Upon inquiring, they justify their acts by saying they eat to feel better. Have you ever felt better after stress eating?
You might feel at ease or forget your worries for a while, but the discomfort and emotional disturbance persists. Your body might feel better after eating, but after some time, you might feel another urge to consume food. And the cycle goes on. But did you ever consider why this cycle does not stop?
It is because emotional eating can never offer complete satisfaction and comfort. Therefore, the body keeps craving, and you keep eating. However, the result is even more damaging. Many people become obese and get more emotionally disturbed because obesity takes them further physical and emotional damage. So consequently, we should not use emotional eating as a way to regulate our emotions.
How can we Deal With Stress Eating?
Before dealing with stress eating, you should first identify your unhealthy eating patterns. If you think you are also eating out of stress, you should minimize this habit by seeking comfort in other ways.
To avoid stress eating, try finding comfort in other things–for instance, a good movie, friends, games, rehabilitation activities, outdoor activities, and many more. And if these alternates are unable to calm you, get professional assistance.
FAQs
What is the reason behind stress eating?
Stress eating is one of the most significant damage we can do to ourselves. You might take food as your friend, but in reality, food consumed out of spiritual discomfort is unhealthy.
People often stress-eat from emotional or spiritual discomfort, including feelings of loneliness, emptiness, boredom, pain, anxieties, insecurities, jealousy, hatred, failure, meaningless in life, and many more.
What emotions can cause a person to eat?
Several emotions cause a person to eat regardless of how stuffed and full they are. You might have noticed that you feel powerless around food and have the urge to binge on food even after having your recent meal. These uncontrollable habits result from spiritual distress, leading you to find emotional comfort in food. However, you should realize that stress eating is not safe, and you should avoid it.
Final Thoughts
There are various spiritual reasons for stress eating; you might be going through tough times, have encountered a life-changing event, or have a hard time battling some unwanted and disturbing emotions. However, if you ignore the reasons for a while and consider the dangers of binge-eating, you will realize the harm you are doing to your body.
Emotional eating might offer comfort or distraction for a while, but it is not healthy and beneficial in the long run. I have seen people gaining weight, having harmful diseases caused by obesity, and further emotional anxieties that stay and do not go away. So if you want yourself to have emotional and physical comfort, avoid stress eating.