Food as a refuge from stress

We all like to eat and we all have daily stress. It is therefore quite understandable that many people take solace in food to help relieve stress and attain a feeling of well-being. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with this. Indeed, a good meal with friends and loved ones is a positive healthy response to the pressures of the world. It is only when carried to excess that one has to be aware of the potential problems of self-medication through eating.

Just as there is a difference between social drinking and alcoholism, the line delineating festive healthy meals and chronic overeating is matter of degree. As we contemplate job and family pressures, money-related stress, and socio-political tensions, it is very tempting to binge on a pint of your favorite ice cream. Unhealthy stresses may trigger unhealthy responses. And the flood of food advertising bombarding us daily doesn't help.

If you sit down to watch a baseball or football game on TV, you will be barraged by literally dozens of food-related ads, hawking everything from pizza to beer. The idea of pizza delivery is tied so firmly to watching a football game that it's hard not to picture the two together. Similarly, magazines aimed at housewives often have tempting food ads placed adjacent to editorial content about food. We have seen magazine articles where just about any kind of food is rated by culinary experts: hot dog ratings, coffee ratings, corn chip ratings.... you name the food, and some official-sounding panel has rated it. So when it's time to find some relief from stress, where do we head? To the refrigerator, of course.

Healthy stress relief provided by food requires eating high-quality food in moderate portions. That means being aware of triggers that drive you to eat, and mastering the urge to eat everything in sight. You won't get any help from the food industry, so you need to do some research on your own, and to think about what stresses you and what calms you down. Not all stress relief requires food. Comforting items, such as flowers or family photographs, can have a wonderful affect on stress that doesn't involve calories and chewing. Physical stress such as pain should be addressed by qualified pain physicians and pain clinics as you don't want to those flowers to turn into funeral flowers. The choices are only limited by your imagination. Find avenues other than food consumption to relieve stress, and you will experience a happier, healthier life.