Have we ever noticed why in spite of bad financial conditions Fast Food Points are mushrooming every where in Kashmir, and in comparison public libraries or reading rooms are getting closed or very few people go to libraries. According to Wikipedia “Binge eating is a pattern of disordered eating which consists of episodes of uncontrollable eating. It is sometimes a symptom of binge eating disorder or compulsive overeating disorder. During such binges, a person rapidly consumes an excessive quantity of food” and then tries to compensate it by other negative ways. When treating patients of any eating disorder, following conditions must be excluded.
- Most common un-diagnosed Diabetes.
- In children not taking de-worm medicine under the impact off some some myths. One myth is it should be taken in summer only, another complain is that medicine failed as many patients think they should see large tapeworms in morning when they defecate. Truth is medicine can be taken in any season, and these worms cannot be seen by naked eyes. People become prone to gall bladder stones if they don’t take it as per doctor’s advise.
- In many cases of depression, one has excessive desire to eat, in many cases of intellectual disability [Mental retardation], same is in case of disorders like uncontrolled Schizophrenia[ in lay mans language MAD man].
After these conditions are excluded the only thing that remains is stress of study, job, and home.
Due to this, to escape stress, people indulge in eating fast food, which gives them temporary relief, as these foods act as drugs.
Over eating is only a temporary relief from emotional pain, instead it adds more pain in future.
Rather than getting relief from stress by over eating or shopping, we must face the real problem and counter negative thoughts by facing them and taking steps to remove this negative patterns which we inoculated from so many years. I have noticed in most of fast food outlets many smoke, along with taking a delicious biryani, thus more people become victim of passive smoking. Globalization is good, but when Kashmiris few decades back were heavy eaters of WAZWAN,which is full of fats, it was rare people having cardiac problems. Now in spite of being choosey to attend marriages and having modern technologies cardiac diseases and heart attacks so common. It’s not the result of only fast food outlets, but food adulteration starting from milk which is mostly consumed by kids and pregnant women, to adding color to food; when and why famous Kashmiri MAVAL [cockscomb ] got eliminated I don’t remember.
According to books of spirituality “First lets tell ourselves that getting angry, or stressed is not normal. There is nothing like good or bad stress. Stress releases from our body stress hormones, like cortisone which are basically emergency hormones, which are used by body in its self defense at times of accident or shock, but if we remain angry, stressed on daily basis, these hormones affect working of our heart, and brain. God has build our vital organs in such a way that their working efficacy is more than the required need, so at first we will not be able to find anything wrong in our body in first years of stress, but slowly body organs show effect. I am taking example of diabetes as so many suffer from it nowadays in Kashmir. In diabetes its only when a large number of cells of pancreas are destroyed, only then we notice we have become diabetic. Same is the case with kidneys, its only after large nephrons are destroyed we get sugar in our urine exams. So if somebody has history of sugar, no need to panic just do blood sugar fasting after 6 months or one year. If we look at nature, we will notice that everything in nature – plants, flowers, etc. do everything they do peacefully – they grow, flourish, decompose and die in peace. We get an obvious impression from them that peace is their natural nature but through proper guidance by parents, teachers, clerics we can have a generation that will say ANGER and STRESS are not natural and will avoid junk food. There are various people in our society which are all stress prone. Here are some important symptoms of stress leading to unhealthy or overeating.
- Fatigue and sleeping difficulties
- Loss of concentration and memory
- Insecurity: We may suddenly feel shy or exposed around people with whom we are usually filled with confidence. Or we may believe that we are always being judged or criticized
- Tears and mood swings: One of the most common symptoms is that we cry easily. We may also experience mood swings – joyousness followed by sadness or vice versa.
- Anger, irritation on trivial things.
To stop food temptations, give your pantry a makeover, and get rid of unhealthy packaged foods. Eating salty, fatty or sugary treats when you’re bored; can train your brain to want them every time you’re bored. Next, devise a plan B for boredom. Make a list of activities you can do to keep your mind off food and your hands out of the fridge. Take a walk, call a friend or watch a movie. Crossword puzzles and knitting are two activities that can keep your hands busy, too.
Also, make changes to your everyday routine to keep from getting bored. Take a different route on your daily jog or eat outside on a warm evening. After all, variety is the spice of life.
On basis of my OPD experience I recommend following.
- 6 monthly mandatory general health and mental health check up of doctors, bank employees security forces and students.
- Yearly mandatory mental health check up of all mentioned above.
- After every 3 months counseling of above mentioned category, showing them ways to de-stress.
REFERENCE:
Jun 6 2017.Stress and Midnight Snacking.Greater Kashmir.retrieved from
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/opinion/stress-and-midnight-snacking/251514.html
