Stress Eating
Stress
is a feeling. Stress is when a person worries or fears. One may worry
about a test. A person may be scared about doing a book report in front of
class. Also, stress can come from a person hearing her parents fight or
wondering if someone will tease her at school. Stress can be hard to live
with sometimes. To get through the stress, a person finds ways to comfort
herself.
Many kids and teens deal with stress by
eating. This way of coping with stress can make a person too large. When
you find yourself reaching into the fridge during a tough day, try these
before eating:
-
take a walk. Taking a walk (or any
exercise) can help calm your body. Also, doing this most days can help
your brain not feel as stressed all the time.
-
take a bubble bath
-
have a temper tantrum (just move all
breakable objects first)
-
punch your pillow or mattress
-
let yourself cry
-
call a friend
-
grab your journal and free write. Free
writing is when you write down whatever comes to mind without thinking
about it. You may feel the stress come down your arm and onto the page!
-
For other stress strategies,
click here.
Sometimes,
a person feels as if only food will help them deal with stress. If this
happens to you, try to keep one or more of these foods in the front of the
counter or fridge: