Written by Janele Bayless, LPC, RDN | Wellness Coordinator for Nutrition Education
It’s been over two weeks since the country came to a collective halt in response to COVID-19. As you’ve transitioned to living mostly indoors, perhaps you’ve re-established a sense of routine and are attempting to maintain good health practices.
If you’ve stayed glued to the news or social media, you’ve likely seen a slew of online resources and apps made available to help people take care of their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. While taking care of one’s health with nutritious foods and physical activity has its benefits, it can be just as important to practice self-care in the forms of comfort and compassion.
According to the book Mindless Eating: Why we eat more than we think, people are likely to eat comfort food when happy (86%), for reward or celebration (74%), bored (52%), or lonely or depressed (39%). Whatever the reason, it’s normal to crave comfort food for different experiences.
The Science of Why You Crave Comfort Food suggests that comfort foods remind us of our social ties and experiences, which may help us feel less alone and isolated when we have those foods. “I can think of no better time to eat comfort food than when you need comfort the most,” suggests Marci Evans, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Especially because “Food is more than nutrition – it’s joy, too,” according to the article Stress Eating These Days? Here’s Some Help.
If you’re feeling pressure to maintain your normal routine with food and physical activity as you would when there isn’t a pandemic, rest assured this unique time and transition won’t last forever. A few weeks of less-balanced eating won’t cause long-term health issues, so consider how you can integrate compassion for yourself and others.
Why compassion? It’s been shown to reduce feelings of anxiety, depression, and rumination, and increase psychological well-being and social connectedness. Compassion also fosters resilience during life’s challenges.
Want to become more compassionate? Consider the following ideas:
- Gratitude. Reflect on things in your life that you can appreciate – big and small – to help bolster your awareness of what’s going well.
- Journal. Writing can help put your thoughts and emotions into perspective, and potentially help you avoid ruminating unnecessarily about a situation.
- Kindness. Consider what you would say to someone else for comfort, encouragement or support, and consider how you can demonstrate that to yourself.
- Philanthropy. Helping others can take the focus off yourself or your situation, and simultaneously boost your self-esteem and well-being.
To learn more about compassion, check out the 20 Reasons Why Compassion is So Important in Psychology.