Psychological stress, especially long-term stress, may be one of the factors contributing to the formation of overweight and obesity. But excessive body weight often becomes a source of many anxiety for the patient. What is stress and how does it affect weight gain? What emotional problems does obesity cause?

Obesityis a complex disease caused by dietary mistakes, environmental abnormalities, metabolic and hormonal disorders, genetic and psychological factors. Among the latter, the use of food as a jammerstress , a level of emotional tension may be a stimulant to weight gain.

On the other hand, overweight and obese people experience many psychologically burdensome and stressful situations due to their disease, e.g. those related to dietary restrictions during dietary treatment. Therefore, specialists point out how important it is to personalize the treatment of overweight and obesity for each patient individually and to provide psychological support for this process.

Psychological stress - what is it?

Stressis a commonly known term that we experience at many important life events. It is usually associated with unpleasant experiences. We understand it subconsciously as a negative stimulus that affects our lives.

But positive, even joyful and pleasant situations, such as wedding preparations, meeting with a person important to us, can also be a source of stress for us. However, regardless of the character, people perceive the same stress stimuli in different, very individual ways.

What is a source of great tension for some people may turn out to be a trivial, meaningless event for others. The way we perceive a stress stimulus depends on our mental endurance, resilience and experiences.

According to Jan Strelau, an excellent Polish psychologist, a person feels strong emotions, negative feelings such as anxiety, fear, helplessness, anger, aggression, and when he is not able to control them, stress arises in his body. .

Modern medicine defines psychological stress as the complexity of stimuli and responses that lead to the psychological and physiological arousal of the body. The phenomenon of stress is captivatingtherefore in 3 ways:

  • as a stimulus that can cause tension and strong emotions in us,
  • as a reaction that is the psychological or physiological response of the body,
  • as a process, the relationship of the organism with its environment.

Even 60 percent obese people suffer from depression

Stressor - what is it?

Stressors are stimuli that contribute to stress. They can be broadly divided into:

  • minor everyday problems,
  • serious challenges and threats,
  • dramatic events.

This division depends on the strength of the stimulus and the human tolerance to threats. Stressors come from different places. The source of stress may be our closest environments, such as: family home, place of work or study. Then we are often exposed to the stimuli coming from them and they can be a source of harmful, long-term stress.

Stress - how to fight it?

Stress significantly affects the quality of our life, our emotional and social development, functioning in family and professional roles and individual acceptance. Experiencing stressful situations in childhood especially affects our actions in adulthood. In order to maintain emotional stability, the ability to cope with stressful situations and to efficiently solve problems play an important role. It is also important to be able to distinguish important situations that may be a significant stressor from trivial situations that should not affect your well-being.

How we deal with stressful situations depends on our individual characteristics and adaptability. The ability to actively solve problems by planning actions and solutions is a great art. Unfortunately, not all of us do. However, it is the best way to deal with stress. It requires a reasonable approach to matters, which are often the source of many negative feelings that throw us out of psychological balance.

Stress and obesity - how does stress affect weight gain?

Psychological stress, especially long-term stress, may be one of the factors contributing to the formation of overweight and obesity. A stressor that works for a short time, first of all, will suppress the appetite for a while. During chronic stress, when we mistake emotions for hunger, we eat larger portions of food, and those that are not converted into energy are deposited in the form of adipose tissue.

Another reason why people consume food excessively in stress is the inability to cope with it. More precisely - it's about the lack of the ability to discharge emotions. Everyone has their own coping stylewith a crisis. But when we interpret stress correctly - as an emotion - we need to discharge it in a different way than by eating food. It is therefore important to develop appropriate relaxation techniques, engage in physical activity, rest, consciously isolate from the source of the problem, which will help us deal with stress without food.

Scientific research shows that responding to excessive food consumption during stress is the primary mechanism of action in many people, but it is a learned response. This is because eating is a resource that is not only readily and everywhere available, but also provides quick relief. Unfortunately, this is a temporary relief. Food and the process of eating itself do not solve or solve the problem. Often, under the influence of stress, patients in the same way reach not only for sweets or high-calorie foods, but also for alcohol and cigarettes.

Obesity and stress - how does obesity affect the emotional state?

Obesity itself is also a source of stress for the patient. Overweight and obese people often do not accept their appearance, have low self-esteem, and feel unattractive. They are also under great social pressure, have difficulties in establishing and maintaining professional, social and social relationships.

Another source of stress for overweight and obese people are subsequent attempts to reduce body weight. Going to a doctor, dietitian, even telephone contact, dieting, cooking meals, control visits, exposure to constant evaluation by specialists can be a painful experience for the patient.

During treatment, overweight and obese patients often experience situations where they feel isolated or wronged. These feelings are most often caused by the need to strictly follow a slimming diet in the company of people with a he althy body weight, e.g. close family members, friends at school or at work. So eating "forbidden snacks" becomes a "comforter". It acts as an addiction, having a greater impact than the principles of rational nutrition.

When following weight loss diets, patients may also have problems with restrictive eating. Constantly denying yourself nutritional pleasure can lead to great frustration. And this, in turn, is to abandon the diet or binge eating according to the principle of "all or nothing" - either strictly follow the diet or completely do not control the quality and quantity of meals.

High emotional tension resulting from the awareness of obesity, the disease itself and its treatment elements, people with excess body weight try toto react by consuming consecutive portions of meals. As a result, not only does their body weight increase, but also such feelings as remorse, trauma and stress increase, which they try to reduce with food. This is called The vicious cycle of obesity.

Worth knowing

World scientific publications on obesity indicate that the treatment of excess body weight is highly complex and requires an interdisciplinary team in which an important role will be played by a dietitian and psychologist.

Important

Poradnikzdrowie.pl supports safe treatment and a dignified life for people suffering from obesity. This article does not contain discriminatory and stigmatizing content for people suffering from obesity.

About the authorDr. Patrycja Kłósek

Clinical nutritionist, psycho-dietician, trainer, Obesity Treatment Center. Diet Palette.

Category:

Obesity