When it comes to food advertisements, the food companies (especially those who tend to dish out the lesser healthy choices in the realm) do a great job at portraying their products alongside depictions that conjure up positive thoughts, emotions, and memories.
Now of course, they are in the business to sell food, and of course they are going to make their fare seem appealing, tasty, and memorable. I mean, it’s only good for the bottom line and makes logical sense.
The thing I would like to examine though is the psychology behind this and how we think about food.
I feel that we all tend to associate certain emotions with certain things, and what we eat is definitely one area where this may ring true.
For example, try to recall a favorite baked good or treat that maybe your parents used to make on special occasions. In this instance, let’s use an example of holiday cookies. Now you may possibly be thinking of the aroma that would fill the house. The sweet smell of the gooey, rich, decadent chocolate makes you think just how tasty those were going to be as soon as they cooled down right out of the oven. A remembrance would wash over you of the good times to be had over the holidays with family get-togethers. It was just another reason why you loved the holidays. It was something to look forward to.
Now, don’t you feel like having a good old-fashioned batch of chocolate chip cookies?
Maybe that’s why you may see a similar portrayal on some commercials advertising products of this sort – it helps reinforce these positive associations.
So how can this affect us? With some of us, it can potentially help trigger a strong subconscious desire to use certain foods as a vehicle to help us feel warm and fuzzy inside. This isn’t all bad, but if left unchecked, it can be one component that can guide us toward becoming obsessed, or even addicted to food. (Food obsession and addiction will be widely covered and discussed throughout this blog. Check back in the near future for an introduction to our views on this subject.)
Okay, this can be complicated and a little-understood subject, and some of you may be thinking that you have never heard of this idea before. We feel that it is of incredible importance to the subject of overeating though, and extremely important to understand to help overcome its grasp and to work toward a life of healthy equilibrium.
Let me start by saying that nearly everyone probably associates something positive with their favorite foods. It only makes sense, and is the way that we are wired.
The important key to remember though is that there is a difference between embracing the enjoyment that comes along with indulging in a favorite food in moderation and the endless pursuit to recapture the essence and joy that may have been “bottled up” into the experience of your favorite foods by your mind’s positive associations. In short, in the first example in the previous sentence, the food in general is not being used to fulfill an emotional need. On the other hand, in the latter part, the positive associations attached to certain kinds of food are being used to recapture a positive experience that may have made a person feel really good.
The entire scope of the theory about food and how it can turn into an addiction for some people is beyond the focus of this specific post, but will be delved into in detail in future entries. But let’s look at how it can relate to positive associations.
It can begin to answer the question that some of us may be asking, and that question is: “Why do some people never have a problem with overeating, and the associated weight gain, and some do?” Part of the answer may lie in the difference between the two scenarios described above. People who don’t have trouble around food may not be using it to fulfill an emotional need (or as a way to cope with negative feelings).
Conversely, people who do have trouble with overeating may indulge in certain gratifying foods because they may reinforce, most of the time without them even realizing it, warm memories that at one point seemed to soothe the soul, and many of its specific troubles. Within this threshold is where we suppose that it can become habit-forming, and potentially turn into an obsession or addiction.
A good example to use for reference is that of alcohol. There are many people for whom alcohol never presents a problem throughout their entire lives. They may have gotten drunk on a couple occasions by accident or experimentation, and it didn’t really do anything that they perceived as positive for them. In fact, the hangover the next day may have been enough to thwart them from ever doing it again. Instead, they view alcohol as something they never really drink, or if they do, it is only in moderation to enjoy at social events or for the taste. The alcohol itself does not fulfill an emotional need for them, and any positive associations with its effects may be perceived differently and may not have much importance to them like it might for a person with whom it does become a problem.
Now of course there is a physical addiction that can develop with excessive consumption of alcohol or other substances. But as with any addiction, there is a large psychological aspect as well which contributes to and influences a person to develop a problem with it. That’s what we will be focusing on.
With people who eventually develop an addiction to, or eventually have a problem with drinking alcohol, the substance may serve as a vehicle for them to try to recapture positive associations that resulted from early experiences with it. Even though they may have gotten sloppy drunk on their first few bouts with alcohol, and got sick from the associated hangovers, there may have been just “something about” the way it made them feel. The initial euphoria, the loss of inhibitions, the “cover up” of negative emotions – in general, it could have made them feel “really good.” It may have helped them to not think in the negative patterns that were ailing them, even if they didn’t understand that they were indeed experiencing them. It seemed to help get rid of these feelings, even if just for a temporary period of time. This created an experience that was interpreted as positive, so much so that it outweighed the feeling of being physically ill the next morning!
Trying to recapture those moments could have been very alluring for them, so they went out and tried it again. It seemed to work! So the habit developed, and the positive reinforcement got stronger and stronger.
So fast forward to later in the progression of this addiction… The people who are experiencing the problem with alcohol, and the detriment that can be typically associated with it, still keep chomping at the bit, and continue to drink to recapture those positive associations, even if they may now be an illusion for them. They keep going at it, but when they wake up every morning after another binge, they feel like a mental wreck, but then the only answer seems to be the ever-alluring pull toward that “solution” – the alcohol. The illusion, and the drive to recapture the long-faded sense of positivity that their minds keep associating with getting drunk, keeps compelling them to drink, even if the alcohol is causing serious problems for their minds, bodies, and souls.
In this case, the alcohol can be serving to fulfill an emotional need, whether that be depression, low self-esteem, negative emotions, or a wide array of psychological issues. With many people, just abstaining from alcohol doesn’t fully fix the problem. Instead, it can be accompanied by getting to the root of these negative emotions, which can help make the transformation in mind and spirit that helps keep them sober. For each person, the path may be a bit different, but when the internal emotional needs are addressed, understood, and guided toward a healthier equilibrium, then the person may be less apt to revert back into problematic habits.
We feel that such can be the same for those of us whom food obsession, food addiction, and overeating is presenting a problem.
The most important thing to remember though is that, if you feel and recognize this, you are not inferior or have a mental defect. Take all the societal labels and throw them out the window! Just as many alcoholics, recovered or not, are incredibly intelligent, compassionate, creative, talented, loving, and worthy individuals, the same goes for those of us who may have issues with overeating! Just because you may have negative emotions, or any of the things that come along with overeating, doesn’t mean that people who do not are better than you or that you are diseased, weak, powerless, or a plethora of other societal labels! Take these labels and put them in the garbage where they belong!
And what can be really liberating is to understand what it is that may be presenting an issue for you, because you can then conquer it and find effective ways to manage the emotions and habits. But there is no “quick fix” that is going to make them go away forever. Heck, that’s what we may have been trying to do and why we overate in the first place! We may have been trying to use food as a means to cope.
But life is much more than just “coping!” When we work through all of these things, we can find ways to manage them to a point where they don’t cause issues for us anymore, and we can enjoy a life of freedom instead!
