As a psychologist specializing in the areas of eating disorders and diabetes, the topic of hunger comes up time and time again. Hunger is defined as a feeling of discomfort due to a lack of food along with a desire to eat. There are generally two main types of hunger: physical and emotional hunger. However, there are also the less discussed types of hunger: Taste Hunger, Practical Hunger and Medical Practical Hunger.
Physical Hunger
Physical hunger is considered to be a biological and physiological hunger. This is the type of hunger when we experience a gnawing or emptiness in our stomach, headache, or shakiness. The physical symptoms usually build gradually and become more intense with time. When you eat enough, this usually resolves those physical sensations for a few hours.
Emotional Hunger
Emotional hunger is the desire or craving for food that is generated by an emotional state. Typically, we think of emotional hunger or emotional eating as happening when we are experiencing a negative or unpleasant emotion. However, you can experience emotional hunger in any emotional state. Emotional hunger usually involves seeking comfort or distraction in the food you are craving. The physical sensations of hunger can come on quickly and eating reduces them temporarily.
Emotional hunger cannot be satiated by food. Eating may feel good for a brief period of time, but the feelings that caused you to eat are likely to exist once you are done eating. For some, this can cause you to feel worse than you did before. Worse, you are not learning healthy ways to deal with your emotions, may experience an increase in your weight, and you can feel powerless over food and your emotions.
Taste Hunger
This occurs when we feel like eating something because you are craving the item or because it sounds appealing. This type of hunger generally does not originate from feeling physically hungry, but instead comes from a place of wanting to have pleasure due to eating. A great example of this, is having a sweet following a meal, even if you have felt satiated.
Practical Hunger
Is when you are not feeling physically hungry, but you know that if you do not eat now you will feel overly hungry when you are due to have your next meal. This can be something like having a snack prior to a class that will run into lunch time.
Medical Practical Hunger
Is when you have a medical disease that causes you to need to eat for various reasons. An example may be type 1 diabetics where they need to eat at times for their blood sugar levels. This can occur if one takes too much insulin for a meal and due to overdosing, they need to eat more than planned following their meal. This can also occur for those being treated for eating disorders that are on meal plans made for weight restoration. With this, the individual may need to eat for health despite not experiencing any hunger cues.
Support Yourself!
If you are struggling with hunger and eating, it is incredibly helpful to first identify your triggers for eating. Are you eating to reduce emotions, due to stress, for your medical disorder?
Working with your psychologist and medical team on exploring your eating habits and obtaining support for any dysfunctional eating patterns can be helpful for your health and wellness!
A few helpful tips to try:
· Make time for relaxation: Give yourself at least 15 minutes every day to relax, decompress and unwind. This allows you to recharge your batteries and helps reduce your urges to emotionally eat due to stress!
· Connect with your community. Spending time with the people in your life you love, friends, or your medical community can help enhance your life and protect you against the negative effects of stress or make you feel less alone!
· Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep!
· Make exercise a priority, exercise does wonders for your mood, energy, and is a great stress reducer.
· Reach out to a mental health professional to obtain support!
Need help with understanding your emotional hunger? Reach out to Dr. Amanda Comstock at Unwavering Counseling!
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