Emotional Eating

Today's post is a little bit more serious than usual. Recently, I lost my cat of 12 years to cancer. Since I'm away at college, I wasn't home to see him before he died but I knew that he was sick. When my dad called me to tell me the news, I cried for the longest time. For people that don't have or have never had pets, it might be kind of hard to understand just how heartbreaking it is to lose something that feels so much like a part of the family. It may seem silly to get so upset over an animal, but this cat was my friend, my cuddle buddy, my comic relief, and the one I fed fish to under the dinner table (I really hate the taste of fish). So when he died, I was torn apart emotionally. Don't worry, I'm doing much better now! I think I just needed a solid day to cry about it.

Now, there are many different things that people use as emotional outlets, some of which are healthier than others. Lots of people turn to food in times of stress, depression, anger, etc., but I have discovered that I am an emotional non-eater. When I get stressed or  sad or even super mad, I tend to lose my appetite. Nothing ever looks good enough for me to consume and I never actually feel hungry. I will eat, just not a lot. Emotional eating and non-eating, while different, are very similar and neither are healthy ways to go about handling your emotions.

Ironically enough, the day before I found out about Hunter (my cat), my friends and I had talked about emotional versus bored eating. That was when I made the realization that I'm an emotional non-eater but a bored eater. So when I got the news, I made a conscious effort to make sure I wasn't neglecting my health during my time of sadness and self-pity. It's extremely important to make sure you're at least maintaining your physical health even when you feel like you're mind could explode from emotions or stress. Trust me, I know it's not easy, but it's so worth it. When you take care of your body, even when your feelings are out of control, you can begin to feel better emotionally so much quicker.

I know that I'm not a doctor or anything, but here are some things that I found useful when trying to avoid bad habits I give in to when I'm emotional*:

1. Set a food goal: Aim to eat a certain amount of food during each meal of the day. If you tend to overeat during rough times, try aiming for a smaller, more normal portion size. If you tend to under eat, make it a goal to eat every meal. For example, even though I didn't necessarily feel hungry the morning after my cat died, I forced myself to eat my usual breakfast of fruit and cereal. My lunch and dinner portions were smaller than usual, but something is always better than nothing. 
2. Don't wallow: For an entire day, I was SUPER mopey. I don't think I smiled all day. It was awful. But even allowing yourself to think one happy thought or flash one 50 watt smile can make your day 10 times better. It's difficult to try and force a ray of sun to shine through a thick layer of clouds, but even one ray of sunshine lights up the earth a bit (yeah, yeah, I know that was cliché).
3. Naps are good: Sometimes, all you need is a little nap. As long as your emotions aren't interfering with your ability to face the day and to function, then a short little cat nap can be beneficial and who knows, maybe you'll even wake up feeling better!

Well, hopefully these suggestions can help you out the next time you're having a rough day or even a hard week. I'll be back on to peppier posts soon! 

*Note: These recommendations are just for when you have those occasional bad days that just seem impossible to conquer. Everyone gets them every once in a while, but if you experience feelings of sadness on a regular basis or if you often have difficulty facing the day, you should probably seek professional help. Depression is a serious health problem and if you think you may have it, then you should speak to your doctor.