Food and Emotions

I am an emotional eater. Emotions are the force behind what we feel. First we have the thought or perception of a situation, then emotion follows as an expression of what is being internalized. If I feel sad my emotions can range from facial expressions, such as a frown, to crying. If I feel happy my emotions can range from a facial expression, such as a smile, to crying. It is our emotions that allow us to create. So emotion is a verb, it is the action of what is being felt inside. All of us have a base line that we call normal. It is different for each of us but this base line is where we are at emotionally at any given time when we feel whatever normal is for you. Throughout our day we will emotionally move around this baseline depending upon what it is that we are internalizing about our perception of the situation. The higher the anxiety we feel, the more expressive our emotions can become. Somehow, for some of us, there is a link between our emotional reaction and hunger, the feeling that I need food. I know that there is a reason that they call it “comfort” food. When I am in a high state of emotion I become very hunger and the craving is for something high in fat and calories, a cheeseburger fits the bill perfectly. Yesterday something happened to me that cause a high state of anxiety and emotional sadness. It was the very first time since I started fasting that I was truly hungry. So much so that I had to go into the garage away from everyone to gain control of this experience. I know I could not eat, I would not eat, but “Oh my GOD!” and not the expression, that was a prayer! I am not sure what the answer is and I would like to hear your thoughts about this. As I perceived through the hunger, drank water, and utilized some of the stress management techniques I teach my firefighters and police officers I was able bring myself around. But it was so hard, I want to eat so I could feel better. So tell me what you think, if you do this, what have you done to deal with it? Let’s see if we can help each other out.