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SYMPTOMS & AYURVEDIC REMEDIES
EAT WHEN LONELY / DEPRESSEDWHAT DOES IT DO TO YOU? HOW CAN YOU MINIMIZE NEGATIVE EFFECTS?
Are you prone to a problem with 'Eat when lonely / depressed'?
Part of what makes loneliness unbearable is the aspect of mystery in it. When you are alone, you may not know how and where you can find human connection, and feel your self-esteem quickly wither before the enigma. When you feel like you are unloved or alone, there is a kind of gaping hole within your core. It can be tempting to try to fill a gnawing hole of loneliness or depression with food. At first glance, food seems a perfect antidote. The comfort and richness it offers seems to restore a sense of well-being. Food appears to nourish your need for love, and oppose the dryness of loneliness. Unfortunately, eating when lonely can be habit forming because food only temporarily calms these feelings of despair. When the food is gone, the loneliness and sadness remain. Food is not the warmth of physical touch, however it nurtures you in other ways. Society tends to view pain, even when it's emotional, as something to get rid of or diminish. Doctors will even prescribe "pain-killers" and anti-depressants which suppress discomfort without addressing the cause of the pain. Once the effect has worn off, the discomfort returns. The same holds true with emotions like depression and loneliness; eating may relieve your discomfort, but loneliness persists after the food sedation has worn off. Learning to love your emotions is nature's best painkiller. To love is to pay attention and to listen with tenderness, without attempting to avoid or hide from your feelings. Love isn't afraid to feel uncomfortable emotions like loneliness or depression, but rather listens openly and is willing to experience raw discomfort fully. Developing this kind of care for your own brokenness is, of course, easier said than done. It may take years for you to develop the strength to bear suffering and emotional struggle without overeating, especially if you have spent much of your life in opposition to discomfort. Just like feelings of sadness, anger, joy, or adoration, loneliness is not forever. The sensation comes and goes. It is only when you ignore your loneliness or stuff it away with food that it persists and does not complete its cycle of coming and going. An act of hope, even in the face of loneliness and other difficult emotions, can be a more authentic source of strength than food in times of despair. Hope, like love, is a verb. It's not just a feeling, but something you do actively. Once you are solidly rooted in a practice of hope and unshakeable faith, you will find the strength to face loneliness, and fully experience its temporary nature. Loneliness isn't always psychological. Sometimes, you will feel extra lonely and isolated when certain organs are stressed out. For example, wheat may create congestion in the chest area that masks as loneliness. Sugar can aggravate yeast and other fungal infections, that distort your emotions and thinking process. Depression may come from a slow metabolism or sluggish digestion. Sometimes, you can literally feel where the loneliness is lodged in your body. Try to notice these physical symptoms in the face of your emotions. Is there a heaviness in the chest? Are your prone to sighing? Are your energy levels low or are you experiencing uncomfortable symptoms of indigestion? Try an invigorating practice like pranayama (breathing exercises), or revitalizing your blood with a diet high in fresh, bitter greens. Learning to discern the difference between true hunger and emotional hunger is also essential to healing this kind of relationship with food. Ayurveda suggests to eat only when you are truly hungry, and to minimize emotional eating. There are many ways to nurture yourself without food. Going for a walk, helping a friend, and even making a small donation to charity can bring the richness, warmth and affection you are seeking back into your life.
DIET FOR IMBALANCES RELATED TO 'EAT WHEN LONELY / DEPRESSED'Augment your diet with these specially chosen ingredients below which may be useful for 'Eat when lonely / depressed'. Individual results vary depending the cause of your imbalance and by constitution. Please research the ingredients below to find which are most helpful for you, and check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.PRODUCTS FOR IMBALANCES RELATED TO 'EAT WHEN LONELY / DEPRESSED' FIND MORE WEIGHT LOSS RELATED PRODUCTS
See our herbs & products in these categories. Or, click here for general Weight Loss Tips.
DISCLAIMER: The pathogenesis of each person's condition is unique, and so the diet must be fit to the individual and the unique root causes of the condition in your body. WHAT IMBALANCES CAN IT CAUSE?
AGGRAVATES THESE DOSHAS & QUALITIES 'Eat when lonely / depressed' is likely to aggravate the following doshas and qualities. If you have a systemic imbalance of one of these doshas or qualities,
Ayurveda would generally recommend removing, substitute or lessen the frequency of 'Eat when lonely / depressed'.
 Imbalance Accumulates Improper food and lifestyle causes balances to accumulate. Ayurveda shows you exactly which doshas and qualities will accumulate in your body. Once these doshas and qualities accumulate too much, they will begin to cause disease. You can reduce an imbalanced dosha or quality by removing things that aggravate it from your diet and lifestyle.V = VATA, P = PITTA, K = KAPHA 
To learn more about the symbols above, click on them. Are you prone to a problem with 'Eat when lonely / depressed'?
FAVOR DIETS, LIFESTYLES & HERBS WITH THESE MEDICINAL EFFECTSEverything you eat has an effect on your body, which Ayurveda categorizes in a simple and easy way, using gunas. Gunas are qualities (like cold and hot) that describe the effect a food or herb has on your body. Cooling foods like cucumber, decrease metabolism. Heating foods like chili pepper, stimulate your body and increase metabolism. For 'Eat when lonely / depressed', you should select foods with the following qualities (gunas). Individual results will vary, based on your body type and the root cause of your imbalance.
To learn more about the symbols above, click on them. Digestion: Appetite suppressant APPETITE-SUPPRESSANTSuppresses hunger without causing weight gainMind, Stress & Sleep: Nervine NERVINEHerbs that specifically go to the nervous system and brain. They can help with stress, memory, early alzheimer?s, even chronic pain.Weight Loss: Hypolipidemic , HYPOLIPIDEMICScrapes fats / cleanses blood vesselsLowers Blood Sugar LOWERS-BLOOD-SUGARAn herb that lowers blood sugar.ADDRESS ISSUES IN STAGE OF DISEASE 0EAT WHEN LONELY / DEPRESSED IS IN STAGE OF DISEASE 0 - POTENTIAL CAUSEPotential causes increase and disturb your imbalanced doshas and qualities, causing them to accumulate and spiral out of control. For example, if you're overheated and eat a chili pepper, heat may become excessive and cause disease. As a dosha or quality accumulates in your body according to your dietary and lifestyle habits, it is more and more likely to cause disease. You can reduce an imbalanced dosha or quality in two ways, by removing, or lessening the frequency of aggravating causes from your diet and lifestyle, as well as by favoring balancing diet and lifestyle practices. For example, try eating something as cool as a cucumber when you're overheated, instead of a chili pepper. REDUCE THESE RELATED SYMPTOMS & HABITSThe following symptoms & habits may be related to 'Eat when lonely / depressed'. See your quiz results for a computerized assessment of your body type. Please click on the symptoms below to learn more about them.WHAT'S NEXT? 
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HOW AYURVEDA WORKS
ARE YOU WONDERING HOW AYURVEDA CAN HELP YOU?
WHY IS AYURVEDA THE RIGHT SOLUTION?Ayurveda strengthens the body, in addition to addressing the disorder. It take a holistic, systemic approach, instead of myopically focusing on the disorder in question. Ayurveda shows a person how to interpret signs and symptoms of imbalance, and how to address them using materials from home, so they can optimize their health on a continual basis. You can't take the doctor home with you, but you can take Ayurveda home with you. Ayurveda is the most advanced and easy to use home system for self healing with an exceptional focus on digestion.HOW DOES AYURVEDA WORK?Ayurveda starts by identifying your body type, which identifies certain tendencies in your body to get sick (as well as identifying your strengths). It uses body type to determine the likely root causes of your disorders. Next, Ayurveda analyzes the nature of your disorder. It fits all your signs and symptoms into a pattern, expressed as a combination of gunas / qualities. For example, you may have a heat disorder, a cold disorder, or an oily disorder, etc. This simple categorical approach shows you how to correct systemic imbalances and strengthen your body as a whole.On Joyful Belly, we've created an extensive categorization of food so you can easily match food to your imbalances (gunas). By eating an optimal diet that balances your gunas, your whole body is strengthened and the conditions that created the disorder are removed. Once the root causes of the disease are removed, the disease lessens in strength or disappears altogether. Additional remedies - such as herbs and lifestyle practices - focused on the specific disorder, can greatly enhance your healing. Want to learn more about Ayurveda and its step-by-step approach to healing? Click below.LEARN MOREGET STARTEDTo get started on your Ayurvedic journey, we first recommend that your find your body type by taking our free quiz. In Ayurveda, every solution is based on your unique body type, so by taking this quiz, you’ll get the best results.5 WAYS TO HEAL YOUR BODY
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About the Author John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda. His approach to Ayurveda exudes a certain ease, which many find enjoyable and insightful. His online course Balance Your Ayurvedic Diet in a Week provides tools for gracefully healing with Ayurveda to thousands. John also directs Joyful Belly's School of Ayurveda , which specializes in digestive tract pathology & Ayurvedic nutrition. John and his wife Natalie recently published Explore Your Hunger: A Guide to Hunger, Appetite & Food.John's interest in Ayurveda and digestive tract pathology was inspired by a complex digestive disorder acquired from years of international travel, including his public service work in South Asia. John's commitment to the detailed study of digestive disorders reflects his zeal to get down to the roots of the problem. His hope and belief in the capacity of each & every client to improve their quality of life is nothing short of a personal passion. John's creativity in the kitchen and delight in cooking for others comes from his family oriented upbringing. In addition to his certification in Ayurveda, John holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University. John enjoys sharing Ayurveda within the context of his Catholic roots, and finds Ayurveda gives him an opportunity to participate in the healing mission of the Church. Jesus expressed God's love by feeding and healing the sick. That kindness is the fundamental ministry of Ayurveda as well. Comments & Personal ExperiencesWhat are some of the reasons why you include 'eat when lonely / depressed' in your life? Is there something you'd like to know about 'eat when lonely / depressed'?16 likes |
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