The Coronavirus and the measures imposed as a result of it have left many dealing with increased levels of stress and anxiety.
Feeling anxious and stressed is a normal reaction to such extraordinary circumstances, especially given that it is still unclear when the situation might return to normal.
Many people deal with their anxiety in a number of ways, such as through anxiety induced overeating and undereating. One must keep in mind that the quality of food that we eat contributes to the quality of the thoughts we think.
Speaking to The Malta Independent, Danica Cassar – a Health Psychologist at the Willingness Team, and Emma Hogg who is a Psychotherapist, Lifestyle Strategist and founder of the self-development agency known as A Life I Choose – spoke about anxiety induced overeating and undereating, explained why it happens and most importantly, spoke about the different ways that people can cope with it.
“Many of us find that we eat more than we need to when we feel anxious,” Hogg said. She explains that eating delicious food can be quite comforting, and provides a sense of relief. “Overeating gives that feeling of satisfaction because a full tummy pushes down the diaphragm, and this gives a feeling of relief which is similar to that when we breathe in deeply.”
Willingness Team Psychologist Danica Cassar meanwhile, said that “research shows people can end up overeating due to boredom and it is necessary for us to be aware of this as it might result in overeating without being aware of it actually happening.”
The Willingness Team psychologist continued and said that “when one thinks about the stress we might be experiencing due to COVID-19, it might result in us seeking comfort through overeating, thus in this case overeating would be an emotional response to the stressor, which is usually called comfort eating.”
Cassar highlighted that different people can have different responses in terms of eating. “Whether you have struggled with anxiety in the past, or it is something that you are experiencing because of the current situation, it is normal to discover some changes to your normal eating habits.”
Danica Cassar
Everyone has their own way of coping with anxiety
Emma Hogg remarked that “during such an uncertain time, the majority of people are experiencing anxiety to some extent or another. “Everyone has their different way of coping with their anxiety. Sometimes, we exercise and that relieves the stress for a while, and other times, we choose less nourishing methods, and we eat to the point that it doesn’t feel good anymore”
Although it is not as common, sometimes anxiety has the opposite effect on a number of people as they struggle with anxiety induced undereating, Hogg said. “This happens due to various contributing factors and it isn’t so simple as to say that undereating always happens due to anxiety.”
Hogg remarked “that although undereating in some cases might be a response to stress, if this is an ongoing behaviour pattern then there might be more going on, and professional advice should be sought.”
“If the undereating is a short-term response to stress, this often happens because the person simply loses their appetite as they literally ‘can’t stomach’ what is happening around them,” Hogg said. “It is important to remember that when we find ourselves in a stressed-out state, the body goes into fight or flight mode, thus it doesn’t prioritise digestion because at the time this is less important than fleeing from a potential threat. Therefore, the person loses their appetite.”
Danica Cassar, meanwhile, said that since sometimes people cannot control the situations causing the stress around them, “we might result in trying to control other things to give us a sense of ownership. Therefore, we try to control other aspects in our lives such as our eating habits.”
It is very important to acknowledge and be aware of our eating habits in order to find the right way to cope with them. “The main reason why it’s important to control overeating and undereating is because it can lead to poor eating habits. Bad habits are very easy to learn, however are a lot harder to stop and unlearn,” Cassar said.
Emma Hogg
Quality of food contributes to the quality of thoughts
During a period where the majority of people have lost their daily routine in some way or form due to the Coronavirus, eating habits are of the utmost importance, Emma Hogg explains.
“The quality of the food we eat contributes massively to the quality of the thoughts we think. Anxiety is heightened by ingredients like sugar and food additives. Therefore, when we comfort eat processed foods in an attempt to ease anxiety, we’re actually doing the opposite because the processed food is increasing inflammation within the body, which in turn increases anxious thoughts.”
In addition, she says that “eating habits matter during this period, especially as when anxiety levels are high and the body is in an inflammatory state due to poor diet, the immune system is weakened, and with the Coronavirus present the last thing anyone wants is a weakened immune system.”
Danica Cassar said that both overeating and undereating can result in a number of negative effects on our health. “These health consequences include conditions such as obesity, diabetes, blood pressure issues and other heart related issues, apart from mental health.” However, not having a healthy balanced diet could also lead to other negative effects such as “feeling constant fatigue and tiredness, which can also impact our sleeping pattern. One can also experience self-esteem issues which are related to bodily changes and also, the lack of nutrients when one doesn’t have the right eating habits, can lead to brain fog – this is when we feel clouded in our thoughts - and can cause issues with concentration, thus leading us to making terrible decisions which impact our health and lifestyle.”
Asked whether doing exercise could make up for overeating, Cassar explained that if one tends to overeat, yet they exercise enough to make up for it, this would not be qualified as having a healthy lifestyle. “The relationship between overeating and exercise is not as straightforward as we’d like to think it is. We need to be careful so as not to believe that overeating can simply be neutralised by exercising.”
Cassar said that “although exercise is beneficial to burn excess calories, we should not overload our body to a great extent, but rather we should eat the right amount of nutrients as it is important to remember that in order to exercise we need to have the sufficient intake of nutrients to help support our body.”
Having said all this, there are a number of ways one can prevent or limit anxiety induced overeating and undereating in this uncertain time.
Be self-aware of your behaviour
“When we eat due to anxiety, we’re attempting to distract ourselves from pain and uncertainty,” Hogg says.
“Pain and emotions are a lot like children,” Hogg said. She likened such things to the way a child would act when they draw a picture. “The child will tell you what they drew and why, and once they feel understood they will go off on their next adventure.” Hogg explained that “pain and emotions do this aswell, therefore the more we ask them to go away, the stronger they will come back. You can’t fight anxious thoughts and physical symptoms away, but you can bring attention and acceptance to them, and this will allow them to metabolise.”
“Remember that we reach for the nachos, the cake or the huge plate of pasta because we’re craving comfort and distraction from our anxiety. Therefore, it is very important to be aware, as when you incorporate awareness, joy and calm into your day, you’ll can enjoy the day more, feel better and ultimately won’t need to overeat.”
She added that by scheduling breaks, connecting with other people and having fun throughout the day, it will relieve a lot of stress within the body, “thus you won’t need that sudden shift in state which leads you to munch on food for comfort.”
Danica Cassar highlights that people should try to eat at the same time each day as much as possible, in order to allow the body to get used to a schedule rather than changing it as the day goes on. She said that “if you find yourself snacking, observe your behaviour and ask questions like – am I eating out of boredom or is it because I am really hungry?”
Lastly, one could also cope with this situation “by planning healthy meals and times to ensure that you have all the food items and ingredients you need. This would serve as good practice to think healthy when you are shopping for food as it can help put a solid routine in place and ultimately live a healthier life,” she said
For anyone seeking support, you can message the Willingness Team Facebook chat with #COVID. Willingness Team Professionals are also offering online therapy on secure platforms, and support. They can be contacted through [email protected] or 79291817. In addition, Emma Hogg offers online psychotherapy and coaching sessions. You can follow her on:
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