The Food-Depression Link: What to Do When You’re Addicted to Food Due to Being Depressed

Many people have a love/hate relationship with food, reaching for it for comfort, entertainment, even companionship, then loathing it for the feelings of guilt this behavior produces.

Indeed, comfort foods (such as ice cream, potato chips, macaroni and cheese etc) are almost always high in bad fats, sugar, salt or a combination of the three. They provide instant gratification and pleasant feelings (albeit often short-lived ones) whenever you eat them.

It’s not hard to understand then why so many people suffering from depression become addicted to food; they want to feel better. And, conversely, why so many people who are addicted to food become depressed. The quick fix of eating a chocolate bar doesn’t satisfy them for long and their eating habits cause them to gain weight and put their health at risk. Both scenarios are vicious cycles.

Why We Crave Comfort Foods

Cravings for comfort foods, particularly during stressful times, are not just emotional. There are actual physical reasons why our bodies crave these high-fat, high-sugar foods, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study, conducted on rats, found that 24 hours after the rats’ chronic stress systems were activated, key stress hormones in the rats (similar to the stress hormone cortisol in humans) prompted them to engage in “pleasure-seeking” behaviors, including eating high fat foods.

"Our studies suggest that comfort food applies the brakes on a key element of chronic stress," said study co-author Norman Pecoraro, PhD.

Of course, in times past, eating high density foods when your body was stressed could mean the difference between surviving a long winter or dying. But today, when most people have access to food 24/7, using food to ward off stress can lead to obesity and health problems.

When we eat, dopamine, a “feel-good chemical” in the brain, is released, increasing the pleasurable feelings gained from food. The bottom line is that, for people with depression, food cravings are a double-edged sword, being driven by both physical and emotional factors.

The Emotional Side of Eating

Eating is a very emotional process. From the moment we sniff a loaf of bread or catch a glimpse of a pie fresh from the oven, our feelings are involved. Often, we associate experiences and memories with foods, which can make us want them even more (for instance, having an ice cream sundae when you’re upset, because that’s what your mom gave you as a child).

Those who are chronically sad may reach for a comfort food much like a drug addict reaches for a drug -- to comfort them temporarily, to relieve the sadness, only to need another “fix” in a short while.

"The brain circuitry that we use to find drugs or food has the same mechanisms involved in looking for anything rewarding," says Roy Wise of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in Maryland, in a Science News article.

With this in mind, it’s quite possible to be addicted to food, just as you can be addicted to drugs or alcohol.

How to Overcome a Food Addiction & Gain a Healthy Relationship with Food

To treat most addictions, people are told to completely avoid the substance, but with a food addiction, this is not possible. So how can someone with a food addiction develop a healthy relationship with the object of their addiction?

The key, according to Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training at Sedona Training Associates, is not about avoiding the substance, but rather looking into what is motivating you to want it.

“Avoiding the substance without dealing with what is motivating the addiction usually fails in the end. With any addiction the important factor is letting go of whatever feeling or belief is motivating you to do the behavior, even though you know it is not good for you,” Dwoskin says.

The Sedona Method is a tool that will help you to tap into your inherent ability to release whatever emotions, feelings and behaviors may be motivating you to reach for food in times of sadness. This is a simple, scientifically proven system that will dissolve your need to seek comfort in food, and can also help you let go of the symptoms of depression.

“Once you let go of the inner motivators,” Dwoskin says, “the actions follow with greater ease and effectiveness. Also, you can let go of the feeling that you must give your power away to the addiction.”

When you release these negative feelings and behavior patterns with The Sedona Method, you feel in control of your behavior, and you’ll easily make smart choices that will support your health and happiness now and in the years to come. Your mind will also become more open to the multitude of ways you can receive pleasure without food, such as reading a book, taking a walk in nature, or having a long conversation with a good friend.


http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=45815