Food is the Drug

Human beings constantly grapple with their ability to feel emotions. Negative emotions such as fear and sadness can be hard to tolerate. When emotions are strong and not successfully handled, they lead us into trouble. Our inability to manage emotions drives us to drink, smoke and do drugs. These are “mind altering” substances, and they change our emotional states, numb us, or give us a false sense of well-being that does not exist for us in our realities. Another effective way to rid ourselves of negative feelings is to indulge our senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, and yes, taste. Indulging in sensory activities helps us focus away from how we feel. This focusing away is often referred to as “escaping”.

Addictions are very easy to develop. Individuals can become addicted to any activity that brings sensory pleasure or draws attention away from negative feelings we are trying to avoid. These include addiction to watching TV, movies, surfing the web, sex, pornography, exercise, talking on the phone, reading, knitting, surfing, and of course, eating.

Food is one of the most powerful addictions because it is so pleasurable to eat, particularly if it is made especially tasty with salt and sugar. Eating till you’re full can cause you to feel a sense of heaviness and fullness that is calming. Foods that are high in fats are particularly addictive by nature. A new study on foods with high fat content reveals that certain chemical differences in obese rats cause compulsive eating to occur of high fat, high calorie foods. This study might indicate that fast food could be as addictive as any drug. Please read the study for more: http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.2519.html

Interestingly, many blame manufacturers of such foods for compulsive overeating and obesity in the general population. While it might be true that unhealthy and addictive foods are easy and cheap to buy, that is only one side of the coin. It’s easy to blame others for our actions. This takes the responsibility off of us so we can continue to indulge our impulses without feeling guilty.

Yes, food is tasty and nice, but humans buy it, and eat it. Food helps us alleviate boredom, anxiety, depression, feelings of emptiness, and loneliness. Eating calms and soothes us. It takes our minds off of our problems by inundating our senses with lots of stimulation. We can feel the texture of the crunchy chip as we bite into it and chew it while its saltiness and oil takes us to a state of delight. Once we reach that point, we are no different than a smoker that takes a long drag of a cigarette and exhales. Pleasure overcomes us, and we don’t have to think about the late fees, the failed relationships, or company parties.

Just as with any other addiction, it takes discipline and a strong desire to quit the behavior of overeating. In my practice I have found that unfortunately, desire to quit does not always translate into motivation to quit. Many sufferers of Depression have very low self-esteem, and high levels of self-hatred. They believe they are not capable of stopping, that it is too hard for them. I have observed that deep down; many believe that they don’t deserve happiness, or can’t fathom it. Individuals that lack social skills and isolate have few sources of pleasure in their lives, and food becomes a substitute for human interaction. Sufferers of rape or childhood sexual abuse may have a subconscious motivation to stay overweight, so that they do not have to be looked at by others, and wear their weight around them as a protective shield against predators.

If food addiction is a problem for you, and you have acknowledged this, the first step is to develop an understanding of what your underlying motivations are. If you have tried time and again to go on diets but have been unsuccessful, it is time to examine why you are having difficulty breaking the pattern of overeating. Failed diets often perpetuate the problem of food addiction because they further hurt self-esteem and increase feelings of depression. This starts the overeating cycle over again and fuels its fire. In conclusion, finding the proper help is instrumental in beating this issue.

Negar Khaefi, MFT

Negar Khaefi, MFT Experienced psychotherapist practicing in Santa Monica, California specializing in the treatment of adults with anxiety related problems, relationship problems, and trauma. phone:310-291-8842 email: negarkhaefi@gmail.com, website: negarkhaefi.com

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