AYURVEDA PERSPECTIVE ON EAT WHEN LONELY / DEPRESSED

At first glance, food seems a perfect antidote. The comfort and richness it offers seems to restore a sense of well-being. Food appears to nourish your need for love, and oppose the dryness of loneliness. Unfortunately, eating when lonely can be habit forming because food only temporarily calms these feelings of despair. When the food is gone, the loneliness and sadness remain. Food is not the warmth of physical touch, however it nurtures you in other ways.

Society tends to view pain, even when it's emotional, as something to get rid of or diminish. Doctors will even prescribe "pain-killers" and anti-depressants which suppress discomfort without addressing the cause of the pain. Once the effect has worn off, the discomfort returns. The same holds true with emotions like depression and loneliness; eating may relieve your discomfort, but loneliness persists after the food sedation has worn off.

Learning to love your emotions is nature's best painkiller. To love is to pay attention and to listen with tenderness, without attempting to avoid or hide from your feelings. Love isn't afraid to feel uncomfortable emotions like loneliness or depression, but rather listens openly and is willing to experience raw discomfort fully. Developing this kind of care for your own brokenness is, of course, easier said than done. It may take years for you to develop the strength to bear suffering and emotional struggle without overeating, especially if you have spent much of your life in opposition to discomfort.

Just like feelings of sadness, anger, joy, or adoration, loneliness is not forever. The sensation comes and goes. It is only when you ignore your loneliness or stuff it away with food that it persists and does not complete its cycle of coming and going. An act of hope, even in the face of loneliness and other difficult emotions, can be a more authentic source of strength than food in times of despair. Hope, like love, is a verb. It's not just a feeling, but something you do actively. Once you are solidly rooted in a practice of hope and unshakeable faith, you will find the strength to face loneliness, and fully experience its temporary nature.

Loneliness isn't always psychological. Sometimes, you will feel extra lonely and isolated when certain organs are stressed out. For example, wheat may create congestion in the chest area that masks as loneliness. Sugar can aggravate yeast and other fungal infections, that distort your emotions and thinking process. Depression may come from a slow metabolism or sluggish digestion.

Sometimes, you can literally feel where the loneliness is lodged in your body. Try to notice these physical symptoms in the face of your emotions. Is there a heaviness in the chest? Are your prone to sighing? Are your energy levels low or are you experiencing uncomfortable symptoms of indigestion? Try an invigorating practice like pranayama (breathing exercises), or revitalizing your blood with a diet high in fresh, bitter greens.

Learning to discern the difference between true hunger and emotional hunger is also essential to healing this kind of relationship with food. Ayurveda suggests to eat only when you are truly hungry, and to minimize emotional eating. There are many ways to nurture yourself without food. Going for a walk, helping a friend, and even making a small donation to charity can bring the richness, warmth and affection you are seeking back into your life.

Images of Eat when lonely / depressed