192 // Depression And Comfort Eating

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The mysteries of depression may never be completely revealed, it could be an enigma that gives no hint of its origin forever more, or it could be Clark Kent trying to pretend he doesn’t look exactly like the superhero Superman. It could also be that depression has alreadt been completely solved just by eating the right food. You see, you could just be desperately devoid of those feelings and happiness because you haven’t eaten enough almonds. Silly you.

I don’t think it can be denied that food has a big impact on mood though, and that is not just speculation. Especially as I have just had a really large burger with a large side of chips and a salad, and strangely I have become very tired. Then there’s the times I am really hungry and I get agitated very easily, or when I drink too much alcohol I become merry only to then become depressed afterwards. Or if you accidently sit on my bag of skittles so they’re warm and half melted, I will not be a happy chap either.

Theres a link there. Whether it is strong enough to connect Dover to Calais or food to depression is another matter.

The main things you will want in your body to prevent depression though are apparently; tryptophan, B12, Folate, Selenium and Vitamin D. Which is different from what I’ve been eating, you see when I am depressed I usually reach for; a KitKat, a tube of Pringles (Sour cream and Chive), Mcdonalds, a Kebab, Haribo or Starburst. Or sometimes all of them at once.

I suppose our natural need for a complicated answer to the depression question means we must dismiss the food answer; it’s too simple.  Plus I think our desire for high sugar, high fat and fast foods is so great that we convince ourselves it’s definitely, absolutely not the food that is wrong. I suspect the answer is a mixture of many things, food, societal pressures, upbringing and exercise being the main ones. Unfortunately for me at least 2 of those things are controlled by me – damn responsibility.

It is a cycle though, and it is a self-fulfilling one, if you keep eating terrible food you will end up with low lethargic moods and illl health. Then due to the contents of the food you become addicted, that means any attempts to stop eating it will feel counter productive. And if there’s one thing I hate, its being a counter – numbers are really hard. Breaking the cycle is difficult then, and that is where I find myself at the moment.

I’m comfort eating, without exercise and without any major purpose (no job or regular activities), so it is no surprise my mental health is declining (and weight increasing). I’m losing interest in writing, in sport, and in, well, everything. I may be a terrible counter but the negative effects of all previously mentioned issues combined certainly don’t equal anything good – hypothesis proven. Time to change me thinks. On a side note though the burger and chips I had were fabulous.

Paul Green



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  1. lifeofeM

    I do have to say though, I’ll eat anything when I’m depressed. So if there’s no bad chocolate/ice cream/cookies around I’ll binge on other and healthier food (eat quite healthy generally, so thats what in my fridge) and it does not necessarily make me feel better. Even healthy food has high calories (naturally or after a certain amount consumed) so weight gain and the shame that follows are to me unavoidable. 😦

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Paul Green

      I suppose it isn’t the calories in food that affect your mood, it is more the content of the food. Alcohol doesn’t make you depressed because it has a lot of calories for instance. In general though I’d say I’m an average eater, nothing special and nothing terrible. Although having a vegan girlfriend certainly varies my diet.


  2. lexydragonfly

    Ugh, wrote a huge long comment then safari crashed. Isn’t that lovely? I’m doing a public beta OS so these things are to be expected, however, I forgot to expect it. 😛

    Perhaps you already know this? Eating poorly effects serotonin which is in the gut. That is why it leads to depression. Therefore the worse the eating -> worsening serotonin -> deepening depression. Solution? Eating better. I have a friend who has a triple bypass. It was partly genetics, partly never ending burgers and wings. He started eating more greens, less red meat, less desserts (except the cookies I make him, lol) but still has pizza, wings and burgers occasionally. He stays sane, his health has improved. People think you have to become a fanatic of kale – not true.

    I don’t exercise (restricted due to being a maniac in that category). When I eat a normal amount my muscles build, my fat decreases. Exercise helps with mood, stamina, toning, not muscle building. They build at rest. Again, you probably already know this. (example: babies continue to grow despite lazing about for years)

    I may seem a hypocrite knowing what my blog is about, however, I’ve had nutritional counseling for years… umm, okay, decades.


    copying this in case the page crashes again… 😉


  3. Ceece's Travel

    What did I make of that then? Love this! Also I would kill for a burger and chips right now. A triple cheese, beef patty burger with all the bad stuff, and extra gerhkins, I would add a large serving of fries and drench them in tomato/mustard and chilli sauce.

    I’d then eat all of this in bed, in my pjs, while watching some horribly romantic movie from the 90s like My Best Friends Wedding or that horrible The Wedding Date movie, where they thought using the much loved and heart throbbed Dermot Mulroney would be enough to save it, but cast Debra Messing who’s chemistry just did not work in the pairing.

    And I’d be okay with that. 🙂

    I really did enjoy your article by the way but I too have been at both sides of the depression and food relationship, I bounce between binge eating, comfort eating and not eating to making myself sick not eating sides of the scale. As I get older I develop more tools to deal with these things but still they’re things one has to be aware of and get help for. And some days as I say above, I would by the entire dam takeaway!

    If you ever need to talk about anything, absolutely anything, let me tell you angel,I am here. I am trying to get my book out by year end because I believe people need to be re-eduated and bought back to the reality that a majority of the human species live in, the lives that arent perfectly edited on Instagram and when it does drop I’m going to ruffle a few feathers at the least.

    So nothing scares or shocks me! Hugs* All the way from Cee in South Africa.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Paul Green

      You should hopefully be excited to hear that vitamin D is in a lot of foods (salmon, tuna, egg yoke, beef liver…) you can go feast! Although the sun is a very good source too. 🙂


  4. crazybutttricia

    I went through about a six month period of that cycle, not a good solution obviously. Exercise seems to be my silver bullet, endorphins are addictive. I hope you work your way out of this unhealthy cycle soon.


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