Imagine for a moment—you take the first sip of your morning coffee, and instead of enjoying that familiar, delicious aroma, you’re met with the smell, then taste, of gasoline. Or you bite into a juicy piece of steak and it tastes like dirt. Or you lean into a rose in full bloom, anticipating its beautiful fragrance, but no scent rises to meet you. These are the experiences befalling hundreds of thousands of people world-wide as a result of having gotten COVID-19.
Emotional Eating During the Coronavirus
Is it any wonder that, especially now, many of us find ourselves mindlessly staring into our refrigerators and pantries, looking for comfort in food? With so many of our normal pleasures and activities on hold, it’s not surprising that food offers such a tempting oasis. After all, no matter what our lives were like before, they have certainly been fundamentally altered. Many of us are lonely, bored, stressed, worried, or a combination thereof. This can become toxic when we’re sheltering in place and food is so easily accessible. The result: Even when we’re not hungry, we often reach for food when we’re looking for comfort.
Protect Your Immune System to Help Fight COVID-19
The Power of Resilience
For months, we’ve been living a trauma of unprecedented scope—a global pandemic. In the broadest terms, it has meant living with worry and uncertainty, and the anxiety that can bring. In our daily lives, it has meant medical emergencies and possible loss of life among our loved ones; job insecurity and the financial concerns that accompany it; missed weddings, funerals, proms, and graduations, and more.