Does stress make you eat MORE or LESS?

Question

Are you an "emotional eater"? By that, I mean are you a person who tends to eat too much food when you're stressed, upset, depressed, mad or whatever?

This question seems to polarize people whenever it comes up. It seems there's no in-between. Either you really DO feel like eating when you're stressed, or you really DON'T feel like eating when you're stressed.

Personally, I'm in the latter group. If I'm upset or emotional (whether angry, scared, depressed, etc.) it pretty much takes away my appetite. :( I'll eat, because you have to eat or you'll get sick, but I don't really take pleasure or comfort in the food. I've tried to imagine what it's like to be an emotional eater, but I just can't. It turns my stomach.

Anyhoo, I'm just curious how everyone else feels about this. There's no right or wrong answer. :) "Best answer" will go to the most thoughtful/interesting response; it doesn't matter if you're the same as I am, or different.

Answer 1

Well, personally, I eat more. Especially carbs. It's almost an uncontrollable instinctive urge. I feel the same right before I get my period. It really sucks, because I will eat the weirdest things and make myself sick. I have known people like you that actually don't want to eat at all when they are stressed. They often lose weight because of it. That's why most anti-depressants say that they could cause weight gain or loss. If a person hasn't been eating because of depression, he/she could gain weight after the anti-depressant takes effect, the reverse is true for someone who finds comfort in food.

I think the way we deal with stress has much to do with biology. Some people just aren't that into food or are very into food. Some of it also has to do with personal experience, if someone felt comforted by food growing up or was rewarded with it, he/she may be more likely to overeat when stressed.

There actually have been a few cases when I haven't wanted to eat at all when upset, but those times I was extremely upset and couldn't do anything but sleep.

Answer 2

This is something I deal with all the time. Up until recently, the more stressed I am, the more I eat. Lately, I have been trying to do use physical activity in place of food. I used to drink alcohol quite a bit, but find now that I don't drink very often, I am less like to eat when stressed.

When I am very upset, for instance when my father died, I couldn't eat.

Answer 3

Stress puts me off of the food, can't eat anything warm or hot, unless it is soup. But I am hardly that stressed anymore. I love both Strawberries and grapes but I do eat grapes more often, because they make a better snack food

Answer 4

Both, I eat when I am stressed to a point. that point would be stress that isn't devastating or anything , just the stress that keeps you from feeling like you are well and so is the world. Then there is the super stress of a loved one dying or a relationship being broken with a loved one. That's when I can't eat. also, an illness caused me to be unable to eat to the point that I became anemic. So, for me it is both, depending on the amount of stress I have.

Answer 5

I eat less when I am upset for someone else - my family - and more when I am upset for me!

My daughter's first college roommate at the U of MN was a manic depressive, schizophrenic who smoked pot and drank. My daughter is an honor student who only had wine coolers and doesn't get drunk/ This girls would watch my daughter sleep and write "bitc_ on her refrigerator in the cute magnets I bought my daughter.
When I asked for my daughter to be moved, they said I was too judgmental ans sent them to "friendship counseling". There are a lot more incidents but I think you get the idea.
I couldn't eat well that whole school year!

Answer 6

Well, idk if I'm an emotional eater or not. When I was younger and even to this day my dad always called me fat. I have never been insulted by anyone else especially about that. I'm asuming that he isn't right. I have hypothesized that when he insulted me or told me I was fat, I would eat more just to show him that he wasn't going to win. I would rather have been fat then to let him think that his insults have meant anything to me or gotten through to me. I usually don't let people get me upset, but when I do I usually will get pissed and do something else other than eat because of it. I guess I ate as a result of anger, and just to tell my dad that I won't listen to him.

Answer 7

If I'm stressed without anything to do, I will eat more. If I'm stressed and busy, I tend to skip meals, but I'll probably binge on something later. I try to work my stress away and eat well and I'm usually successful at that unless I'm stressing about something that I absolutely can't do anything about. Then it does tend to be snack time.

Answer 8

I WOULD SAY THAT WHEN I'M STRESSED I EAT MORE. I WORK OUT AT LEAST 4-5 TIMES A WEEK AND WHEN I'M STRESSED OR DEPRESSED ABOUT A CERTAIN SITUATION, I START HAVING AN "I DON'T CARE ATTITUDE." I DON'T WANT TO WORK OUT OR TALK TO ANYONE! ALL I WANNA DO IS SIT ON THE SOFA, EAT LITTLE DEBBIE CHOCOLATE SWISS CAKE ROLLS AND WATCH SOME MOVIE ABOUT AN ANNOYINGLY "SO-IN -LOVE" COUPLE THAT MAKES ME WANNA PUKE...BUT THEN THERE'S TOMORROW AND I'M ALL BETTER...(SMILE)

Answer 9

I can't eat when I am stressed. But I know I have to take care of myself, so I try to eat whatever I can when I'm stressed...

Answer 10

Everyone is different some people may become depressed and lose their appetite, while others may use food as a security blanket.