The mackerel stew my mom made, the tteokbokki I ate on the way home from school, a bowl of porridge I ate when I was sick… ,
If there is a food that you find often, that tastes good just by thinking regarding it, and that you want to eat when you are depressed, you can call that food your own ‘comfort food’. It is a nostalgic or emotionally comforting food. Eating it gives you satisfaction and temporarily improves your mood.
What is your own comfort food? Why do I keep looking for that food? We find out why we are looking for comfort food through ‘Psychology Today’, a British psychology specialized media.
feel better
When you eat delicious food, the same parts of the brain that are activated when you are addicted to drugs are activated. In a study of obese people, it was proven that the brain regions associated with drug reward were activated when they encountered delicious food in anticipation.
has a healing effect
Emotional eating is common when you’re not hungry, but when you’re feeling down or stressed, you’re looking for food. When in a bad mood, people gravitate towards unhealthy foods that are sweet or high in calories as a coping mechanism. On the other hand, when we are in a good mood, we tend to make healthy food choices.
gives a sense of security
We tend to associate certain foods with gatherings with family and friends and with people who value us. When we are lonely, we crave these foods that give us comfort and security. In other words, the power of comfort food may lie primarily in the associations it evokes—the memory of secure attachment. People with good family relationships have been found to be more likely to seek out comfort foods when feeling lonely.
evoke nostalgia
There is a strong link between scent and emotional memory. The smell of food can evoke vivid and detailed emotional memories from the past. We enjoy certain foods as a result of what we have learned so far. Because memories triggered by smells tend to be positive, they elevate your mood and make you feel connected to society.