Is drinking sugary drinks every day an addiction-like vicious cycle? Could the source be stress?
Is it okay to order a hand-shaken drink every day without drinking sugary drinks, are they like drug addiction?
I can’t help but order a hand-shaken drink every day. There must be a sugary drink on my desk that makes me feel uncomfortable if I don’t drink it. Is this considered an addictive behavior? Psychologist Su Congqi, director of the Four Seasons Heart Psychological Consultation Center, explained that “addictive behavior” has a strict definition in psychology and must have four characteristics: no need to use it (compulsion), more and more use (tolerance), and no ability to use it. Painful (withdrawal), affecting normal life (harmful).
Psychologist Su Congqi pointed out that unlike clear addictions such as drugs, medicines, and Internet abuse, it is still controversial whether the “sugar addiction” of drinking sugary drinks is an addictive behavior. Although it is not clearly defined as a disease, It can indeed be observed that ingesting sugary drinks activates neural circuits in the brain that are similar to addictive substances. In some people, we have also seen symptoms such as “I can’t do it without drinking”, “The more I drink, the sweeter it becomes”, and “I feel irritable without drinking”. Signs of Addiction.
“I would say that drinking sugary drinks and eating sweets and desserts are more like “like addictions”. When you want to drink a drink, it will stimulate the brain to secrete dopamine. When you drink it, a large amount of dopamine will be secreted and serotonin will rise. But once you drink it, After drinking, dopamine and serotonin will drop rapidly again, making people want to continue drinking and fall into a cycle similar to drug addiction!”
Is the inability to give up sugary drinks actually a stress and mood issue?
Many people are obese because they cannot give up sugary drinks, and may “sugar addiction” be related to psychological problems? Psychologist Su Congqi said that many patients who hope to lose weight do not find that they have been under great pressure or emotional distress for a long time, and instead turn to drinking sugary drinks to relieve stress and relieve their emotions. This kind of stress eating and emotional eating behavior can be discovered through self-observation at that time.
“I will ask them to take photos or record their meals in various ways. Gradually, I will find out what they ate at a specific time and place, or through review, how did they feel before and after eating? What happened?”
Psychologist Su Congqi pointed out that emotional and stress eating is actually a human instinct. When you are aware of yourself and can set appropriate portions, eating can be regarded as one of the ways to relieve stress. What’s more important is to understand your own status, and you must also know that there are other methods besides eating. To reduce the frequency of emotional eating, stress eating and even “sugar addiction”, you can adopt appropriate changes:
Arrange for relaxation: Arrange time for yourself to relieve stress and relieve your emotions.
Diet substitution: If you know that you are eating to relieve stress, you can switch from chicken steak to chicken breast.
Share and eat together: Share your stress and joy with the people around you through eating together, and also reduce the amount of food you eat.
Examine your life: rearrange and face your life. Don’t force yourself to fight or control your diet, so as not to cause additional stress to your body and mind.
Is stress eating linked to social media? Feel before you eat healing foods
The proportion of modern people suffering from stress eating and emotional eating is not low, which is also related to the social media trend of excessive pursuit of body image. Psychologist Su Congqi said that in some cases, they follow Internet celebrities who have very slim and perfect figures. Seeing the Internet celebrities eat big meals but still maintain a slim figure, compared with their own figures, they will feel envy, self-blame and other psychological pressures, so they have to continue to use Eat to relieve stress, and then pursue more extreme weight loss methods, falling into a vicious cycle.
“Whether your body is fat or thin, it is your own body. When you fight against “fatness”, you are actually fighting against yourself. On the contrary, you should treat yourself with care and understanding. The more gently you can accept your own state, the better it will be. Being able to live a healthy life does not necessarily mean being thin, but being healthy physically and mentally!”
Psychologist Su Congqi reminds that people occasionally want to indulge in “healing foods”, and most of these foods contain high amounts of fat, salt, and sugar. Practice feeling your physical and mental state every time before eating healing foods, and then choose appropriate portions to eat. This is a way to take care of both physical and mental health.
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