We eat to feel safe

Kalabaş stated that eating as a strategy of coping with negative emotions when an individual is not hungry is called "emotional eating behavior", added: “That is, people constantly find themselves in front of the refrigerator even when they are not hungry in this process to keep their negative emotions under control. Especially they eat to feel safe and happy.”

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EXPERT

Lecturer from Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) Expert Psychologist Selin Kalabaş, who stated that people had consumed more food than they normally consume after they closed the house due to the viral epidemic and that they could not cope with the situation, made some recommendations.

“THE DIFFERENCE OF REAL HUNGER AND EMOTIONAL HUNGER MUST BE KNOWN”

Emphasizing that people should know the difference between true hunger and emotional hunger, Kalabaş said: “Emotional hunger appears suddenly and people want to eat certain foods (sugary foods, etc.), but physical hunger progresses more slowly and one want to eat because you are hungry without distinguishing food. Briefly, one should be aware of this issue.”

PREPARE REMINDER NOTES

Kalabaş ended her speech as follows:

“Individuals can prepare reminder notes to struggle with emotional eating behavior and write the question "are you really hungry now?" and stick it on the fridge. Seeing the note can create awareness in people. Also, in an emotional eating attack, the person regrets after eating. One of the ways to prevent emotional eating behavior may be to imagine the regret you will experience when you want to eat. Eating when you feel bad can give you happiness in the short term, but can cause excess weight gain in the long term. If you cannot cope with this situation, do not forget to get support from a specialist.”