Why does food make people happy or sad?

Author: Fu Jia, deputy chief technician, Changchun Sixth Hospital

Reviewer: Sang Hong, Chief Physician, Changchun Sixth Hospital

In daily life, do we often hear friends around us say: "I'm in a bad mood today, so I'm going to have a big meal to relieve the pressure!" or "I'm so happy today, so I'm going to have a big meal to celebrate!" Do these words sound familiar to you?

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We are closely connected with food in our lives. It can be understood that it is the fuel that the body needs. Most people like food and enjoy the process of eating. At this time, it is the source of our happiness. But sometimes, food can also cause anxiety. When food is associated with various emotions, and there are different eating behaviors and unstable mental states than usual, we should be highly alert to whether there is an eating disorder.

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So what kind of illness is eating disorder?

Eating disorders refer to a group of psychological and physiological disorders characterized by abnormal eating behaviors and psychological disorders, accompanied by significant weight changes and/or physiological and social dysfunctions, including dieting, overeating, excessive exercise, vomiting, and the use of laxatives. The cause of the disease is related to a variety of complex factors such as biology, psychology, and socio-cultural factors. It is a chronic, recurrent, and intractable disease. According to the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), eating disorders can be divided into the following three types.

Anorexia nervosa: referred to as "anorexia", the main feature is that the patient intentionally and strictly restricts food intake, resulting in a significant weight loss and below normal, and physical function impairment. The main manifestations are that the patient has a fear of weight gain, refuses to maintain the minimum standard weight, is extremely concerned about weight and body shape, and intentionally causes a significant weight loss. Anorexia nervosa is the most serious type of eating disorder, which can bring long-term adverse consequences and has the highest mortality rate among mental illnesses.

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Bulimia nervosa: referred to as "bulimia", is a disease characterized by repeated binge eating and inappropriate counteracting behaviors after binge eating, and a strong preoccupation with weight control. This counteracting behavior may be vomiting, abuse of diuretics or laxatives, dieting or excessive exercise. Bulimia nervosa is a vicious cycle of binge eating-guilt-counteracting behavior. Vomiting is extremely harmful to the body. It affects the body's electrolyte balance, causes arrhythmia, and may cause cardiac arrest. Vomiting can cause gastric acid reflux, damage the esophagus and throat, and may permanently damage the teeth.

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Binge eating disorder: referred to as "binge eating disorder", is a type of disease characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating. It is mainly manifested by recurrent, uncontrollable, impulsive binge eating, but not accompanied by regular compensatory behaviors.

Eating disorders are a difficult disease to cure. The reason why they are difficult to cure is that they are not only related to eating! So what are they related to?

Many years ago, eating disorders were considered to be just psychological problems, which led to misunderstandings, and misunderstandings made many people think that eating disorders did not need treatment. Eating disorders are more common in women, but the incidence in men is also increasing.

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One possible factor that may affect eating disorders is biological factors. Anorexia is more heritable than bulimia. There are signal stimuli and neurochemical transmissions in our brains. These neurochemicals send messages related to hunger and appetite, and other parts of the brain respond to these stimuli; the brains of patients with eating disorders cannot recognize these signal stimuli. At the same time, their bodies ignore these signals, so they can endure hunger for a long time, their response to hunger is very indifferent, and then they will suffer a lot. Genetic genes can affect some personality traits of people. Most patients with eating disorders are generally more sensitive, have a low tolerance for frustration, lack a sense of security, and are often accompanied by perfectionism and compulsive behavior.

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Other related factors of eating disorders are psychological and socio-cultural factors. These psychological and socio-cultural factors may be: someone says you are too fat, your image is not good, and your work or study brings you a lot of pressure; it may also come from dissatisfaction with yourself, the death of relatives, and a lot of psychological trauma, or it may come from sexual abuse, and social pressure to ensure that the body is always thin. The personality characteristics of patients with eating disorders are mostly sensitive, low self-esteem, anxiety, perfectionism and other traits. Patients with eating disorders often show anxious characteristics in daily life. Studies have found that comparisons between peers and excessive pursuit of "thinness" are important influencing factors of eating disorders in Chinese people.

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How are eating disorders treated?

Eating disorders are a group of mental disorders involving physiological and psychological disorders. Unlike other mental disorders, the physical complications caused by physiological disorders can affect all major systems and organs in the body. Therefore, the multidisciplinary team model is particularly important in the treatment of eating disorders. For example, for patients with anorexia, nutritional therapy is used to increase their low weight to reduce complications in all organ systems. Studies have found that cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy are of great significance in the treatment of eating disorders. Behavioral and cognitive changes can significantly eliminate the symptoms of eating disorders. In addition, interpersonal psychotherapy is also considered an effective treatment for bulimia and binge eating disorder.

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Family factors have a profound impact on the occurrence of eating disorders, so family-based therapy is also very effective in treating adolescent anorexia and bulimia. What are patients with eating disorders looking for? On a conscious level, they want to improve their experience and their bodies, while subconsciously, they are looking for love and desire for respect from others. They want to be better than others, so psychoanalytic therapy also has a certain effect on eating disorders.

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Staying away from the troubles of eating disorders requires everyone's joint efforts! Let's establish a healthier and friendlier relationship with food. Eliminate prejudices, get rid of those anxieties about body shape, maintain physical and mental health, and live a happy life!