How to stop eating stress? 6 simple techniques from a psychologist

Delicious food is one of the popular ways to deal with stress. When you are upset or tense, you want to calm yourself down, to bring back a good mood. And the quickest and most harmless way seems to be just a snack. As a result, this temporary measure brings only grief: and stress goes away only for a while, and the figure is spoiled.

psychologist

“I will tell you about how to get rid of a bad habit without doctors and medicines.”

Why people snack on stress and what it leads to

It is known that food soothes, because in the animal world to be fed means to survive. Times have changed, and the human psyche still continues to live by the old patterns.

Nowadays, eating disorders are often referred to psychologists. Eating stress leads to weight gain, self-esteem issues, and sometimes diabetes because stress is most often eaten with sweets. These are good reasons to change habits and not jeopardize your body.

Effective ways to normalize eating behavior

Here’s what you can do on your own or before turning to a psychologist:

Drink water

If you realize that you are “covering” and want to eat, take a break and drink a glass of water. The point of the method is to interrupt the habitual ritual with food and return to yourself control over behavior. Plus, water is also a mental distraction and helps you relax.

Do breathing exercises

One of the best independent ways to fight stress is breathing exercises. The main thing is to start practicing it not at the moment when you already feel bad, but beforehand, in a peaceful and safe environment. And when the problem happens, you can not hesitate to switch to calming breathing.

You can choose absolutely any breathing scheme – they all work. For example, breathing “by square”: three seconds – inhale, three seconds – pause, three seconds – exhale, three seconds – pause.

Don’t forget physical activity

Switch to bodily activity, ideally exercise. It can be push-ups, squats, jogging – whatever you enjoy.

If you can’t exercise often, a regular walk, preferably in a green area where you can look at nature, will do. Even 10-15 minutes in the park can be enough to calm down. An advanced option is to walk and look closely at the details of the objects around you.

That is, do not replay your troubles and worries in your head, but look at the trees, for example. It is not so easy: attention will try to “slip”. But after some practice you will notice a quick effect, and in the future you will get used to it.

Do useful activities

Any activity with your hands, preferably requiring attention, will do: make a sandwich, peel an orange, arrange books on the shelf. The brain can focus on one thing at a time, and by loading it with mechanical activities, you stop worrying. Plus, when things are going well, you calm down a bit. The psyche registers positivity: “I did it, everything is fine, I’m doing fine”.

Trust your problems to paper and loved ones

Write out everything that is bothering you and then discuss it with a few people close to you. Tension is often caused by uncertainty, and putting things down on paper allows you to see different factors at the same time and get rid of the feeling that you’ve forgotten something. Talking helps to get support as humans are very social creatures and the feeling of being in a group reduces anxiety.

Stick to a healthy regimen

On a separate note, let’s create and maintain a sleep and eating schedule. If you lie down and get up at the same time, as well as eat on schedule, the body will form certain internal rhythms and will begin to orient itself to them.

It will be easier to challenge the localized feeling of “I’m anxious, my stomach is churning – should I have a snack?” by saying to yourself, “I remember what I ate at a certain time, and I know when I will eat next time. I have enough food, I don’t need to snack right now.”

These basic tips can get your psyche back on track and get you out of a bad eating habit. Well, as a bonus, you will get a slim figure and a great mood.

If you can not cope with the constant desire to eat stress, you should seek psychological support.