Why do we look for comfort food?

suavequeen

I'm not big on the whole "comfort food" idea but I do see quite a few posts on here about it and the "need" for it.
Recently my kids (teenagers) and I had a mini discussion about it after my grand-daughter came home from a Dr. visit. My son asked my daughter if she was going to treat the baby with something tasty to help her feel better after her shots. He said it jokingly since she is only 3 months old but I had to reply to that. I asked him why would you offer her tasty food to comfort her and he replied, "well isn't that what doctors do? they give candy or some parents take them out for ice cream."

I was speechless for about 10 seconds. I had to ask them to remember back to their childhood days and tell me how I handled these moments. They recalled cuddling together and watching a movie or listening to music and getting lost in it. I told them that I never liked the idea of running to food to help them feel better and that I still don't. That only creates problems in the future and so I would hope that they don't take that route to find comfort in their lives.

Till this day I find myself looking for peace and comfort in music.. as do my kids. Even though we don't practice "comfort food" moments I found it interesting that these young adults associate the idea of comfort and hapiness with food and that its how its done out in the world.

One exception to the idea of comfort food for me is making a dish that i loved from my childhood and enjoying the moment in time that it takes me to.

What have we done to ourselves and to our youth? How do we break this habit and start new ones?

Just had to get it off my chest..

_SusieQ_

I have a someone on my FL who has an avatar that says "Why do you reward yourself with food. You are not a dog"

Seems fitting to your post.

For me I grew up with food as a means of socializing and celebrating. It's a hard habit to break, but I'm working on it.

Meghan0116

While looking at motivational quotes, I came across this. I think it sums up the answer to your question perfectly.

Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us.
Peter De Vries

2bFitNTrim

"One exception to the idea of comfort food for me is making a dish that i loved from my childhood and enjoying the moment in time that it takes me to. "



You seemed baffled by why we look to food for comfort, yet give an excellent example why we would. I think of my Grandmother (who's gone now) & think of her love AND how she made the BEST fried chicken and chocolate fudge. My mother's carrot cake from scratch reminds me of the wonderful Christmases of my childhood. I know there must be other reasons why people get attached to food besides memories of their childhood, but I bet this is a big one. As adults we face many challenges and stresses. Food can take us back in time when we were loved, happy, felt secure, etc.

You are right though, we do need to find better ways to cope with the stresses of our lives. You mention music, which is excellent. Exercise, art, reading, and other hobbies surely are better for us.

clairebear_79

Food is a big part of our culture and we associate it with social gatherings and certain times of year. Some people are emotional eaters so use food as a diversion/ coping mechanism. Its not neccesarily a bad thing as long as it's the right foods. I crave my mums vegetable soup sometimes but then I also crave chocolate from time to time.

Tammisky

You're right about using food to comfort us and how it might be better to turn to music, a hug, etc... However, I think that's not the whole story. I use comfort food even though when I was growing up, it wasn't a huge comfort.

Back then, my mom would just buy me something (like a small toy) after the doctor's. I know buying things isn't a good comfort either... don't want to wind up with an apartment filled with stuff and a bunch of debt either

meerkat70

Food is our basic template experience for emotional care. Your first communications with a newborn are around feeding. When a baby is crying, one of our first steps in caring is to feed the baby. We cuddle babies while feeding them, it's a close, intimate time.

Our feeding experiences form the foundation for later relational experiences. It's unsurprising the food and emotion become intertwined as a consequence.