In General what do we understand about Addiction , an overpowering craving to repeatedly do an activity that gives temporary relief , even after knowing that it has a negative , perhaps even dangerous consequences, which might harm others or it can harm a person itself , even though eventually most people no longer enjoy it. To count as an addiction ,there must also be withdrawal feelings of discomfort , distress , uncontrolled behaviors and intense cravings when addictive substance is taken away or stopped.
So what do we know about addiction , out of 100% almost 80% of people says or talk about alcohol addiction or addiction of heroin or drugs. But addiction are limited to these things only? answer is NO
Apart from all of these there's a type of addiction that seeks a worldwide attention that is "FOOD ADDICTION" , food addiction is debated topic but before that we have to understand more about the concept of addiction which helps us to understand how some people behave around food and eating .
Addiction is complicated , social , motivational , emotional , genetic or environmental all interact to create the addiction experience, People who struggle with addictive types behaviors & food comes in all shapes and sizes, some food addicts eat too much some don't consume enough ,For a food addict , food provides fun , entertainment , reassurance or love that's missing in their life , yeah you heard me right , for some it's a love that's missing in their life , food may also help to Numb difficult emotions like fear & sadness , as we have already talked about , some people can be addicted to restrictions.
There's a difference between normal use and progressing along continuum of addiction is reason or degree , a non addict after taking 2-3 social drinks with friends over an evening once a week , but a addicted person will drink daily and to the point of drunkenness .
before proceeding further , we have to understand how this Food Addiction cause ? and for that we have to understand first the chemistry of food
"Chemistry of Food " . Many foods give us a chemical 'hit' working along the brain pathways as many drugs to stimulate " feel-good "Neurotransmitters" , as with other addictive substances , we ,may turn to these foods when we are stressed , upset , anxious or otherwise feeling badly , we may also associate these foods & addictive substances with "good times" & socializing .
So much science isn't it , but it is so important to understand these things .
What happen when 'normal' goes wrong
Addiction hijacks normal human brain functions , so addicts are not "diseased" or "screwed up" or "different". Addiction has simply taken over normal brain pathways that have other functions like exploring , enjoying things , good sensations, in some or the other way we all are potential addicts.
Now let's understand what we can do to avoid these food addiction
Change the availability & environment - if someone feels out of control with certain foods or in certain situations , our behavior depends heavy on social and environmental cues , so help those people create such social and physical environment that lower the risk of addiction & help them move towards normal relationship with food.
Keep records & look for patterns - as a part of food journal exercise , you can ask the person to jot down what they're thinking or feeling when they eat or what situations they're in ..
Helps to shift their attention - Addiction shrinks people's worlds , help expand those worlds again by shifting their attention to other experience and activities , recovery from addiction needs meaning & purpose , and it needs to be from the "Inner Core". Getting the handle on food addiction might mean helping a person take a temporary break from measurements to shift their thinking towards internal measures of progress.
So we have talked about much on food addiction , now let's understand normal eating mindset .
Normal eaters don't think of food in terms of "good" or "bad" , in fact they don' even think about food at all , for normal eaters food is fuel and pleasure , they don't overthink their food , normal eaters don't under-think their food means they eat mindfully aware of the choices they make and how they feel , they enjoy their food , they don't gobble or rush, they enjoy their food but don't seek emotional solace from it, they eat when they are physically hungry , they're not dependable on craving , they eat with awareness , and they stop eating when the're physically satisfied .
So if you find anyone with food addiction problems , then use these proper information to help them to overcome such addiction
and yeah remember this .
"Khane ke liye mat Jiyo , Jeene Ke Liye Khao"
Shashank Gupta
Fit_by_Hit
Complete Fitness Solution
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