The Relationship Between Cravings And Emotions

People express their feelings in their relationship to food. There is a relationship between cravings and emotions. Here we are talking about repressed emotions. Those that we are not always aware of or accept.

And since oppression is never total, these emotions often rise to the surface in the end. And the truth is that they are often expressed in how we eat or what we eat.

For us humans, food is much more than a biological necessity. From a symbolic point of view, it has to do with all maternal things. It has to do with how we love and are loved. Our way of relating to the world.

A person who refuses to eat in a way expresses a desire to stop living. Anyone who eats too much betrays a desire to survive a real or imagined threat.

“Society is divided into two major groups: those who have more food than appetite and those who have more appetite than food.”
-Chamfort-

What we eat also says something about how we feel. In theory, all food that is well-prepared should taste good to us because it nourishes us. But without knowing why, we enjoy some foods more than others.

Dr. Deanna Minich took on the task of deciphering the hidden emotions behind cravings from her perspective as a nutritionist. This is what she discovered about the relationship between cravings and emotions.

The relationship between cravings and emotions

Strong food and sadness

The word “strong” is not only used for food. It can also describe situations or people that create enthusiasm or excitement. To “amplify it” is to add a dose of interest or excitement. It is no coincidence that we use the word like this.

According to Dr. Minich we want strong food when we are sad. Some people eat things that are so strong that it brings them to tears. We want spicy food because we want emotion, intensity and excitement in our lives.

But we are not aware that this is what we really want – or we know it, but we are afraid to do new things. We compensate for this unfulfilled desire by eating strong food.

Pastries and suffocating routines

This category includes cakes, pies, cookies, etc. It is one of the cravings we experience most often and one of the biggest contributing factors to obesity across the globe. Some people are obsessed with baked goods. Why?

People who crave these foods are people whose daily routine expels them. They turn to carbohydrates to compensate for lost energy. They look for sweets so that they, symbolically, can restore the joy that is lacking in their lives.

Supporters of salty foods

Many foods have an appropriate salt level and it is not “to taste” as many recipes say. The right amount of salt improves the meal, and does not take over the other flavors.

But there are those who add a pinch of salt to everything. They reject the sweet and they love all salt.

According to the study we talked about , people who constantly want salt suffer from internal agitation. They may be angry or anxious. Salt activates the movement of water in their body, so eating salty foods is a way of manifesting internal restlessness.

To want crispy food

If we look closely , one loves not to eat crispy foods because of the taste, but because of the “crunch “. They make no effort to hide the crunch either. On the contrary, they like it.

In this case, the repressed feeling may be anger. Chewing these foods and enjoying their texture and sound is one way to “growl” or show anger. It’s also a great way to get attention when we feel ignored.

Soft starch

Some foods attract us because they feel soft in our mouths. Foods like rice, pasta and bread have a feeling of softness, like eating a pillow.

People who want these foods want to be comforted, protected and loved. The soft texture of these foods gives a physiological feel reminiscent of being embraced. We want comfort food when we are going through a hard time.

This relationship between cravings and emotions is more than anecdotal. Although it does not fully explain our subconscious , it offers important clues that are worth paying attention to. We all have repressed emotions and we all overcome to cravings from time to time.