How can we tell emotional hunger from real hunger? Hunger comes from two places: one is the body, the other is emotion.
Real hunger comes on gradually and shows physical effects in the body. We want to eat something simply to fill our stomach, without being particular about what it is. We feel weak; our hands and feet may tremble. The aim really is just to fill the stomach.
Emotional hunger arrives suddenly, and it comes less from the stomach than from the mind. Here we want one specific thing: a dessert, a chocolate bar, a burger. We do not even look at the alternatives. The aim is not to fill the stomach but to gratify the body and suppress a feeling.
In short: with real hunger we meet the body’s need for energy; with emotional hunger we are only suppressing our emotions.
