These contradictions begin to split a person in two. Body and mind fall apart from each other, and it is in this fissure that an eating disorder may flourish, in the silence that surrounds this confusion that an eating disorder may fester and thrive. — Marya Hornbacher,
Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (New York: HarperCollins, 1999)
That diet and appetite are closely linked to psychological health and emotional well-being is well known. Psychological factors often influence eating habits. Many people overeat when they are bored, stressed, angry, depressed, or anxious. Psychological distress can aggravate weight problems by triggering impulses to overeat. Emotional discomfort drives many people to overeat as a way to relieve anxiety and improve mood. Some people revert to the "comfort foods of their youth"—the meals or treats offered to them when they were sick or foods that evoke memories of the carefree days of childhood. Others rely on chocolate and other sweets, which actually contain chemicals known to have a soothing effect on mood. Over time the associations between emotions, food, and eating can become firmly fixed.
Emotional arousal also may sabotage healthy self-care efforts such as resolutions to diet and exercise. Anxiety and depression can produce feelings of helplessness and hopelessness about efforts to lose weight that undermine the best intentions, prompt detrimental food choices and inactivity, and over time cause many people to give up trying entirely.
This is a free page. This page contains 198 words. This
article contains 6,815 words (approx. 23 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our The Influences of Mental Health and Culture on Weight and Eating Disorders Access Pass.
