http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/why-stress-causes-people-to-overeat
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Once a stressful episode is over, cortisol levels fall, but if the stress does not go away, or if the stress response is still activated, the cortisol levels stay elevated. Stress also seems to affect the choice of food. Many studies showed that any physical or emotional distress increases the intake of food high in fat or sugar. High cortisol levels in combination with high insulin levels, as well as ghrelin, a hunger hormone, are responsible for craving fatty and sugary foods. Eating that ice cream or cake when you are stressed sends a signal to the brain that you have to eat those sweets in order to “calm down”, and that is how the addiction and habit reoccurs. I find this information very true, with my own experiences. I know that when I have anxiety or stress about the future, a lot of times, I go to food. After I started to binge eat, it became a long term habit, and I struggle to this day with binge eating. My mind is telling me not to binge eat, but my body is so used to it that it just grabs food I am not even craving. Stress becomes an excuse to binge eat and that has negatively affected me throughout the years.