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"There's not going to be any food left in the stores, so I'd better eat as much as I can now." "Might as well binge, after all, it's the end of the world." "I'm too anxious about everything going on with the pandemic, overeating is my only comfort." "It's the end of the world, let's party! Yippee!"
Similar thoughts running through your head? If so, you're not alone. The intense overstimulation of our fear response during the COVID-19 pandemic has us all on heightened alert. It's elevated not only our anxiety, but our emotional response overall. Small conflicts seem much larger now. Normal relationship tension has become intolerable. Minor business problems and operational stresses feel like logistical and economic nightmares.
What do we do with all the extra anxiety, stress, and worry? If you're like most Americans, you turn to food, food, and more food for comfort, with little regard for the consequences.
I remember the last time everyone thought the world was ending, right after 9/11/2001. I was invested in a business that quickly went $700,000 in debt because it required large companies to regularly fly their executives to New York City, and none of them were inclined to do that after 9/11. I saw it coming but couldn't do anything about it, so I binged on chocolate and pizza the whole way through. I gained 60 pounds and got sick with high blood pressure, ridiculously high triglycerides, and other diet-reversible health problems. I wound up fat, sick, and broke, when I could've just been broke! I didn't have to take years to recover physically as well as financially. I dug two holes for myself when I could've just dealt with one.
We do not have to overeat in response to a panicked world.
The thing is, I can virtually guarantee you it's not the end of the world. Moreover, I don't know about you, but even if it were, I'd personally prefer to go out with integrity, knowing I'd lived my last days as the master of my impulses vs. thinking I'd let them get the better of me during the mass hysteria. If there is a God, I think she'd be happier with me for having made that choice. If there's not, I'd have enjoyed my last days standing tall and proud.
So, as much as my inner "food monster" might want to stock up on pretzels, potato chips, pizza, chocolate bars, and more, I will not be doing that.
Did you know Shakespeare wrote King Lear while quarantined due to Plague?
We can all use this time to reflect, plan, and build something constructive for ourselves, those we love, for our community, or for society as a whole. And we can do that much better if we determine to hold our center with food.
Developing a pro-social, constructive project will occupy your mind and distract you from irrational (and rational) fears which do nothing but drain your energy once you've done what you can to plan.
So breathe. Love. Connect. Set clear boundaries and keep commitments to yourself above all. Be an example for your family, friends, and peers. This will give you a peace you'll never find at the bottom of a bag, box, or container, I promise.
This too shall pass.
See here for more practical tips and tricks on how to stop overeating.
