Have you ever wondered why an organic task like eating turned into such an emotional experience? Why do people choose to associate feeling better with the consumption of certain foods? Since we were children we have fondly identified certain foods. Food is like a reward. You argue with a friend at school and when you get home you don't run to tell your parents what happened, instead you go and get a tub of ice cream to make yourself feel better. Emotional eating is a form of consumption where people use food to satisfy their emotions rather than their hunger. Whether it's eating an entire bag of candy out of boredom or demolishing a giant cookie while writing a stressful article, we all know that we are guilty, at least on some level, of emotional eating. Unfortunately this is a problem because we don't always recognize what we are doing. Emotional eating can lead to serious problems such as weight gain and overall health. When we think about food and behavior, we don't normally think about the correlation between food and feelings. What drives people to emotionally eat? Many think that emotional hunger is simply caused by negative feelings, but this is false. Emotional eating can be linked to holidays, birthdays, romance, and much more. Occasionally, emotional starvation also occurs during major life events such as divorce or death. In most cases, however, it is small stressors that drive people to turn to food for comfort and diversion. Foods that make us feel good are called comfort foods. Comfort foods offer a kind of happiness on a psychological level. Psychological studies have indicated that “the comfort foods we crave are actually artifacts of our past.” (Galison) Eating these foods brings us back to our food...... middle of paper ......od? Next time think about whether you're really hungry. Is your stomach growling? Do you have trouble concentrating? These signs are directly related to physical hunger. Now you can choose something healthy and not too heavy to hold you over until your next big meal. If you're not really hungry, if snacking after school has just become part of your routine, think about why. Why are you eating? Find a replacement activity to distract yourself. Are you bored or lonely, stressed, tired, or eating to procrastinate? Try some yoga. Meditation really helps ease the mind and places you in the present. Meditation is one of the most wonderful things you can do with yourself. Often in our day we are not very aware. Controlling ourselves is very important. We are often stressed and focused on everything but the present. Recognize and relax.