During times of stress, people often start snacking more frequently, and the choice often falls specifically on sweet and fatty foods. Psychiatrist Yevhen Skrypnyk told a UNN journalist more about why this happens, how to distinguish ordinary emotional overeating from an eating disorder, and what can help change such habits.
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Stress affects not only emotional well-being but also eating behavior, Yevhen Skrypnyk explains. At the same time, he says, a person may regularly reach for the refrigerator even without feeling physically hungry, and stress hormones play an important role in this process.
When we are stressed, stress hormones are released—primarily adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol helps speed up metabolism and release glucose, because the body mobilizes so that we can flee, run, fight, or perform physical work. After that, insulin is released, which utilizes the glucose, and this can again lead to a feeling of hunger and a desire to eat, particularly something sweet
The doctor separately emphasizes that eating behavior can also be influenced by the psychological association between food and a feeling of pleasure. This is especially noticeable with sweets, which people may use as a way to calm down quickly, but the psychiatrist emphasizes that overeating in itself does not indicate the presence of a mental disorder.
Sweet food can additionally provide a feeling of pleasure and calm. Many people have developed an association since childhood that ice cream or other sweets are something pleasant that improves their mood. Therefore, during times of stress, a person may eat sweets—not because of physical hunger, but because they are trying to experience pleasure and reduce tension somewhat
According to Yevhen Skrypnyk, ordinary stress-related overeating should not be equated with an eating disorder, because diagnosing a disorder requires considering not only the fact of overeating itself but also how significantly it affects a person's life.
An eating disorder is when the symptoms already disrupt a person's daily life and functioning. For example, with binge-eating disorder, a person eats significantly more within a limited period than most people would under similar circumstances and feels unable to stop or control the amount of food. Other signs may include eating rapidly, eating until uncomfortably full, eating without physical hunger, and feeling shame and guilt afterward
The psychiatrist separately named the main eating disorders—anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. According to him, they can have different manifestations and causes, including both heredity and stress factors. That is why such a condition should not be diagnosed independently based on a single symptom.
With anorexia nervosa, a person restricts their food intake and may physically exhaust themselves. With bulimia, episodes of overeating occur, after which the person tries to compensate for what they have eaten—for example, by inducing vomiting, exercising excessively, or using laxatives or diuretics. Binge-eating disorder involves recurrent episodes in which a person eats significantly more, cannot stop themselves, but does not engage in regular compensatory behaviors
To cope specifically with emotional overeating, the doctor advises paying attention to daily habits. This includes regular eating, sleep, and situations in which a person automatically reaches for a snack.
Regular meals help, meaning an adequate amount of protein and fiber, as does normalizing sleep as much as possible. It is also advisable not to keep foods that a person usually overeats within constant reach—in other words, not to scatter sweets throughout the apartment. It is useful to pause before an automatic snack and ask yourself: "Am I really hungry, or do I simply want to reduce my anxiety?" It is also important to pay attention to moments when a person eats automatically, without thinking about the reason. Gradually changing these habits helps better control eating behavior and avoid using food as the primary way to cope with stress
Yevhen Skrypnyk says that eating behavior can also be affected by a lack of sleep, because when the body does not recover fully, it may be more difficult for a person to control the habit of constantly eating something. And if overeating becomes a regular way of coping with emotions, then it is worth paying attention to the psychological component of the problem.
When overeating becomes an established way of regulating emotions, it makes sense to work with a psychologist, in particular using cognitive behavioral therapy. Here, it is important to change eating behavior itself and learn to notice the moments when food becomes a way to calm down. At the same time, a strict diet does not always solve the problem, because it is also necessary to work with the cause of such behavior
Yevhen Skrypnyk emphasizes that food is primarily needed to provide the body with energy and should not be the main way to obtain pleasure. This means that developing a healthy relationship with food involves not being constantly fixated on the next meal. At the same time, if there are signs of an eating disorder, professional help is needed.
We should eat to live, not live to eat. Food should give us the energy to walk, run, work, study, exercise, and live a full life. We should not constantly wait for the next meal or turn it into a separate ritual. This is what a healthy relationship with food looks like
Psychosomatics without myths: how stress and anxiety affect the body29.04.26, 11:26