Why people identify happiness with food?

[Antisocial one]

Why people do that?

To me it looks like that more S and F you have you are more likely to think/feel this way. But I could be wrong.

For example: my mother asks me

She "Do you want ice cream"

Me: "No I don't"

She(confused):"Why don't you want to be happy?"

Me:About what you are talking about?

If you ask me this are probably the remains of tribal sociaty. We could even say society before 20. century.

In my life I have admited few times to some people that I don't create this link and every time my words created same kind of shock?

I am aware that by starting this thread I look like someone who is looking for attention.
So if someone thinks that. I can only say that I am really fuc*** up as the thread suggests.


So, why people link food and happines?

[CaptainChick]

Depressives often abstain from eating, for me, personally, when I am depressed I sleep more and eat less.

Hmm, regarding your inquiry this is all I can come up with for now:

Food = energy = vitality = health ~ happiness?

I dunno.

Also, every anorexic chick I have ever known has been a miserably unhappy person.

[Jack Flak]

Don't you know, Antisocial one? It's because of the neurotransmitters. Hunger is a pain, and eating delicious food is a pleasure. Yes, sometimes it is, shall we say...Taken too far.

[CaptainChick]

Ahh, just thought of something else.

HUNGER!!!

A hunger for life is usually indicative of a happily engaged human being.

Hunger represents desire and interest, and the absence of hunger represents either contentment (if one happens to be full, i.e. fulfilled), or apathy.

Those who suffer from terminal cancer often end up eventually losing their appetites, completely.

[Ilah]

Food can make you feel better temporarily. Sugar can give you an energy boost. Carbs can help make you feel relaxed. Chocolate can make you feel better.

There are a few studies out there, but there is not strong scientific proof of it. Mostly it is authors repeating what seems to be a common phenomenom amoung many people.

When I was depressed I ate more, which is also common among people with depression. Some people with depression eat more and some eat less. Lack of appertite is a symptom of depression, but using food to make yourself feel better is common as well.

When my mood is good or neutral, the "food makes me feel better" effect is less pronounced. Although if I am irritable due to being hungry, food will "cure" it.

Ilah

[Antisocial one]

Food = energy = vitality = health ~ happiness?


Are you sure? (http://www.inmagine.com/fast-food-photos/bananastock-bs049)

[erm]

Evolution?

In the present tense, instinct.

There isn't a causal chain for it really. It's a direct stimulation of the pleasure centre. Memories will then be made linking certain foods to that stimulation.

Are you sure? (http://www.inmagine.com/fast-food-photos/bananastock-bs049)

In the plains environment where we first evolved, fast food would have been very healthy.

[Antisocial one]

Do get me wrong I eat normaly (3 main meals a day) it is just that I don't link that to any joy.

One of the main reasons why I have opened this thread is because I don't understand connection between food and depression.

[Jack Flak]

Do get me wrong I eat normaly (3 main meals a day) it is just that I don't link that to any joy.

One of the main reasons why I have opened this thread is because I don't understand connection between food and depression.
It seems your emotions lack the ups and downs of the average man's across the board, and the wager I'd place on the hypothesis that this is entirely related to that would be somewhere in the league of ten thousand American dollars.

[Antisocial one]

In the plains environment where we first evolved, fast food would have been very healthy.

I don't agree with this. Fast food always gives alot of energy but it is not healthy.
The other thing is that people needed much more energy back then.

[Antisocial one]

It seems your emotions lack the ups and downs of the average man's across the board, and the wager I'd place on the hypothesis that this is entirely related to that would be somewhere in the league of ten thousand American dollars.

What exactly do you mean by this?

[Jack Flak]

What exactly do you mean by this?

The day of the average person is filled with moments of both happiness and irritation. From what you've said about your psyche, this appears not to especially hold true in your case.

[Ilah]

Are you saying that you don't find eating food a pleasant experience, even if it something very tasty?

[Antisocial one]

The day of the average person is filled with moments of both happiness and irritation. From what you've said about your psyche, this appears not to especially hold true in your case.


I just wanted to be sure that I have the right picture about your post.

I have come to this forum to research many thing about myself and others
so I probably come as braggart to some people.

As for the food, I don't like to be hungry and when I am hungry I eat.
I just don't understand the cult of food. For example my father talks about feeding rituals
and joy for the senses and to be honest I have no idea about what he is talking about.

[Jae Rae]

Man cannot live (long) without food. The instinct to eat is innate and there is pleasure derived from doing so. Eating to make oneself happy comes from this innate pleasure.

[Antisocial one]

Are you saying that you don't find eating food a pleasant experience, even if it something very tasty?

Should I ?

I simply don't see why there is so much phantasy about that and why people have so much problem in controling how much they eat.

People are usually suprised that I eat how much I need and then I leave everything that is too much for me.

[Colors]

I take it you've never gone hungry then. I mean, haven't you ever gone for a really long hike and at the end of it, you're healthy and your lungs are happily pumping air- and then you have to eat?

When I'm feeling really depressed I miss the feeling of wellbeing from food. I can eat a lot, I can eat a little- but the evolutionary satisfaction of eating doesn't come.

[Antisocial one]

I take it you've never gone hungry then. I mean, haven't you ever gone for a really long hike and at the end of it, you're healthy and your lungs are happily pumping air- and then you have to eat?


Please read the thread. That is the only way you will realise what I am actually asking.

OK I will go to more direct aproach.

Why people enjoy so much in some kinds of food?

I have seen people how they are eating entire box of ice cream and they can't stop eating it. I am sorry but I don't see why that makes him/her so happy and it is my observation that it makes them happy.

My family all the time eats sweets(like ice cream and pudding) after lunch and I never do that with them. I simply don't see what is so enjoyable.

While I eat because I am hungry and I stop when I am not hungry any more.

[Colors]

Sorry I'm a little obscure as usual. What I was getting at, is perhaps you've never felt the lack of wellbeing associated with a loss of appetite- and therefore can't recognize any "happiness" that eating does bring.

[Antisocial one]

I eat all the time and how much I need and I have never been on a diet.

[Viv]

I think it depends on the person.. When I'm unhappy, I tend to not eat as much. When I do, I splurge on a few pieces of chocolate/that's it. I think habitually, as a kid, I always ate healthy.. so when feeling like crap, overeating/eating unhealthy just makes me want to gag.

Growing up, there was a saying in my house, "Not eating much huh? In love?" Even when people are in love, they also tend not to eat as much.

Either way, the only time in which I do eat a bit more than usual is when I'm studying my ass off/the weather's cold outside (this part biologically makes sense- since body fat storage is needed as a blanket for cold weather protection).

[Rachelinpa]

Also, every anorexic chick I have ever known has been a miserably unhappy person.

Word.

[mlittrell]

endorphines maybe

[Haphazard]

Well, there's always jolly and fat being associated, so people obviously see a connection...

For me it's less just food and more a matter of when I need it. Eating when I'm hungry is a great relief and typically puts me in a good mood, but I'll get cranky if I have to eat when I'm not hungry.

I remember the best meal in my life. It was at a Steak n' Shake about two years ago. I hadn't had the chance to eat much substantial for about a week and I'd been sick. I was pretty damn happy after that.

[Athenian200]

I have no idea. It doesn't make any sense to me either.

I mean, food can make me happy if I'm in the mood to eat, or I'm hungry. But if I feel nauseous, tense, or distracted, it can make me feel sick. The type of food offered, and the type I'm in the mood for makes a big difference as well.

So, how food makes me feel depends on several variables.

[heart]

Also, every anorexic chick I have ever known has been a miserably unhappy person.

I read that people who fast, especially anorexics tend to get hooked on the endorphrins/hormones that are released while the body is hungry. It's just another way of altering brain chemistry.

[ajblaise]

I read that people who fast, especially anorexics tend to get hooked on the endorphrins/hormones that are released while the body is hungry. It's just another way of altering brain chemistry.

Same with bulimics, with yaking. (And food eating)

They both might have started for the same reason, but I think they might continue because of the addiction, unbeknownst to them.

[Bella]

Putting something in your mouth mimics putting something in your soul a.k.a the big, aching, void.

[INTJMom]

Why people do that?

To me it looks like that more S and F you have you are more likely to think/feel this way. But I could be wrong.

For example: my mother asks me

She "Do you want ice cream"

Me: "No I don't"

She(confused):"Why don't you want to be happy?"

Me:About what you are talking about?

If you ask me this are probably the remains of tribal sociaty. We could even say society before 20. century.

In my life I have admited few times to some people that I don't create this link and every time my words created same kind of shock?

I am aware that by starting this thread I look like someone who is looking for attention.
So if someone thinks that. I can only say that I am really fuc*** up as the thread suggests.


So, why people link food and happiness?
I think it has to do with the way food was used in our childhood.
I have a friend who broke her leg when she was young.
Her father took her out for ice cream every day to make her feel better.
She says that behavior set a bad precedent in her life because she later used food to comfort herself and had trouble with her weight.

[Nocapszy]

Antisocial One:

You appear to be a remarkably curious guy. How is it that you managed to live long enough to.. well how old are you?
It seems so odd to me because a great many of the questions you ask are very basic... A lot of these things kind of just explain themselves if you pay even scant attention to anything.
I mean is this voracious learning a newfound personality manifestation?

Its fucking weird... I almost don't believe you're a genuine character -- every conception I have as to why you would be how you are seems to contradict itself.

[placebo]

lmao 'Why don't you want to be happy?'
seems so irrelevant to the conversation about ice cream when I read it.
Are you sure it wasn't her suddenly randomly addressing some deeper issue she thinks you personally have? lol ;)

Anyway, what I can say is, food makes me feel good! Especially when I'm hungry!
Perhaps its just a biological/evolutionary thing. We need food to survive. Survival = alive = not dead = good = happy. ? Good foods give you energy too. Energy makes you feel more alive = perhaps more happy.

I find I tend to eat more when I'm in a good mood too. If I'm angry I'll not eat for several hours.

I am SOOO hungry right now talking about food. Food would make me happy right now, because that hungry feeling in my stomach really sucks.

My taste buds would tingle with happiness as well. Not just me. You have to think about your taste buds.

[Edahn]

When most people eat, they enjoy the flavor and enjoy the full feeling they get, and that makes them feel better. Eating/feeding also serves as a distraction from what's going on. Lots of animals eat when they're under stress; it's called displacement activity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displacement_activity).

[scantilyclad]

food can be as addicting as any drug. I can't explain why food makes me happy, but eating solves all my problems, well except for the overweight problem.

[EvanTheClown]

you have to feel good about eating, otherwise we wouldn't have the motivation to eat.

when you take a piss, it feels good. same concept.

[Antisocial one]

Antisocial One:

You appear to be a remarkably curious guy. How is it that you managed to live long enough to.. well how old are you?
It seems so odd to me because a great many of the questions you ask are very basic... A lot of these things kind of just explain themselves if you pay even scant attention to anything.
I mean is this voracious learning a newfound personality manifestation?

Its fucking weird... I almost don't believe you're a genuine character -- every conception I have as to why you would be how you are seems to contradict itself.

I totally understand your postition and I know that I look like a person that simply can't exist in the real world.

I can only say that when I reach 500 posts things will probably start to make more sense to you. What will be in next few days.

My age is 23.

[nolla]

She "Do you want ice cream"

Me: "No I don't"

She(confused):"Why don't you want to be happy?"

Me:About what you are talking about?


I would be confused too... This is really weird. I never was into this kind of eating that is supposed to counter depression or sadness. I would ask your question a bit differently. The food is for pleasure, not happiness. Is it that people misidentify pleasure with happiness? What is happiness anyway, is it a form of pleasure, maybe all pleasures combined, or just an "attitude" on the pleasures? When you say that ice cream cone can make you happy, to me it seems like a huge overstatement and we come very close to the behavior of sex addicts and the like. They misidentify their happiness to consist with only one major pleasure, and undervalue the others.

I think it has to do with the way food was used in our childhood.
I have a friend who broke her leg when she was young.
Her father took her out for ice cream every day to make her feel better.
She says that behavior set a bad precedent in her life because she later used food to comfort herself and had trouble with her weight.

This is a good point. For me, I never remember being awarded or comforted with food. For us it was more like "eat everything on your plate, food is not to be thrown away". And I never have had any obsession into eating.

You appear to be a remarkably curious guy. How is it that you managed to live long enough to.. well how old are you?
It seems so odd to me because a great many of the questions you ask are very basic... A lot of these things kind of just explain themselves if you pay even scant attention to anything.


I like this kind of questions. :yes:

[Antisocial one]

I am digging up this one since someone maybe has something to say.

[nightning]

Necromancer! :devil:

Some food like chocolate contains theobromine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine) are mood elevators. As been said before, stomach extension causes release of hormones that makes you feel satisfied.

Satisfied = happy? :mello:

[Amargith]

yes, chocolate is evil that way..and yet so goooood.

[whatever]

:thinking: why hasn't anyone brought up the connection between food and social functions?

Often, when people go out with thier friends they get something to eat (or drink and then eat...) and at different family and holiday functions there's always food. Most happy occasions in human life are marked by food!

Like my association between standardized tests and food, most people just associate a warm feeling of happiness and friendship with food.

[Skyward]

^

When people eat together it releases a 'bonding hormone' or the 'We're more like friends now' hormone.

Or like the great philosopher Ugg Buggzugg said: 'Gur muk kork Gur moo' "We share food, we friends" :newwink:

[GargoylesLegacy]

Oh, this is definitely a Thread for me. :yes:
Kay, so let me tell you, that when I was in my Teen Years I used to do "Comfort Eating" due to many many Problems in my Surroundings, "Family" and much other Things. (No, I dun want Pity or Anything, I just wanna tell you where I "know" the Stuff from that I will say in a Sec)
I ate a lot, because it did comfort me. The Reasons are / were pretty simple:
Sugar for Example makes you feel hyper and the sweet Taste makes "your World look brighter". Carbohydrates are known to "take away Fear" and Stuff like Fat can support those Things, since it is a so called "Flavor Carrier".
Food is one of those Things that can activate your "Reward-Center" in your Brain. That is why Food can be linked with Happiness.
So far for my Experiences.

[Skyward]

From what I find, I only get pleasure from eating if it tastes good AND I was hungry first. Even then I don't eat for the pleasure of it, and eat only enough to not be hungry for a while.

I can see where people associate food with comfort/pleasure though. (I associate it with base needs that continue survival. Like preferring warm over hold/hot or just shying from discomfort in general)

[FDG]

Because they find the taste of food pleasurable. It's tautological, yes, but individual preferences are...individual for a reason.

[Mo_(operalover)]

:thinking: why hasn't anyone brought up the connection between food and social functions?

Often, when people go out with thier friends they get something to eat (or drink and then eat...) and at different family and holiday functions there's always food. Most happy occasions in human life are marked by food!

Like my association between standardized tests and food, most people just associate a warm feeling of happiness and friendship with food.

A sociologist friend once told me that a study was done where various social gatherings (e.g. outdoor activities... etc. I forget the rest) were 'tested' and and researchers found that the most effective way people bonded was over a meal. I concur.

EDIT: I just noticed Skyward had already posted something similar. My bad.

[Hmm]

Why people do that?

To me it looks like that more S and F you have you are more likely to think/feel this way. But I could be wrong.

For example: my mother asks me

She "Do you want ice cream"

Me: "No I don't"

She(confused):"Why don't you want to be happy?"

Me:About what you are talking about?

If you ask me this are probably the remains of tribal sociaty. We could even say society before 20. century.

In my life I have admited few times to some people that I don't create this link and every time my words created same kind of shock?

I am aware that by starting this thread I look like someone who is looking for attention.
So if someone thinks that. I can only say that I am really fuc*** up as the thread suggests.


So, why people link food and happines?

I am digging up this one since someone maybe has something to say.



To answer your question, I will give you two sets of answers so that you can pick what you like. ;)

*********

Trying to get along mode(mask mode) : :tongue:

1. When we eat food it engages at once both of our chemical senses, which are the sense of taste and smell.

2. It is the sense of smell, rather than taste, that makes us feel happy or sad or any other emotion.

3. Our sense of smell (also called Olfaction) is the only sense that goes directly to the limbic system, bypassing the cerebral cortex, the intellectual part of the brain, where as the other senses must register with the cortex before entering other parts of the brain.

4. Read about the limbic system here: Limbic system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbic_system)

***************

Real me(I am not joking) : :D

When we eat we also smell our food too and it's the smells that comes from foods that makes us happy. The sense of smell (olfaction) was one of the earliest senses to arise in evolution and is well developed in animals. Olfaction is the process of the brain perceiving odor through the limbic system, and in humans and animals, olfaction evokes emotional reactions that can also result in strong behavior changes.

The limbic system is where our memories, instincts and vital functions are controlled and processed. Most memories are connected to smell -- flowers that grew in your yard as a child, the smell in your grandmother's house, chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, etc.The scent of a fresh rose can bring pure pleasure, while the smell of rotten fish or eggs can bring a nauseating reaction. Odor messages are one of the fastest ways to achieve psychological or physiological effects.

The sense of smell mostly acts on a subconscious level though, which is why you can't quite pinpoint why smells or foods you eat may make you happy. Now if you are suggesting that you never have emotional reaction from smells, regardless of the type of smell, then I'm not really sure why that is. :huh:

[SolitaryWalker]

Why people do that?

To me it looks like that more S and F you have you are more likely to think/feel this way. But I could be wrong.

For example: my mother asks me

She "Do you want ice cream"

Me: "No I don't"

She(confused):"Why don't you want to be happy?"

Me:About what you are talking about?

If you ask me this are probably the remains of tribal sociaty. We could even say society before 20. century.

In my life I have admited few times to some people that I don't create this link and every time my words created same kind of shock?

I am aware that by starting this thread I look like someone who is looking for attention.
So if someone thinks that. I can only say that I am really fuc*** up as the thread suggests.


So, why people link food and happines?


People identify happiness with anything that evokes positive emotion, especially on a profoundly unconscious level. Our ancestors, ever since monkeys derived positive sentiment from eating. Thus, a positive sentiment has been associated with food on a profound level. Secondly, our personal experiences have led us to believe that food leads to positive sentiment. We associate food with happiness because we associate food with positive sentiment on a deeply unconscious level.

[Mo_(operalover)]

The sense of smell mostly acts on a subconscious level though, which is why you can't quite pinpoint why smells or foods you eat may make you happy. Now if you are suggesting that you never have emotional reaction from smells, regardless of the type of smell, then I'm not really sure why that is. :huh:

If you have anosmia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anosmia), you're pretty much screwed, eh?

[Anja]

Here's a crass thought:

I still have a sneaking suspicion that, sexual urges aside, men's obsession with mammaries dates tosubconscious memories of being warm, fed and comforted.

I know. I know. Bless Frood's warped little brain.

So does it then follow that men who say they aren't obsessed with bewbs (prpl's word) were formerly infants whose moms screamed at dad while they breastfed? Heh.

[Antisocial one]

Hmm I see that you are still under impresion of a particular thread. I will raise that one from the dead also. (since it is not finnished)
But your analogy is good.


I am not suggesting that it never happend to me that smell caused some kind of emotion or memory but it looks to me that this trait is much weaker in me then in people around me.
I can sense smell without problem but I don't get excited over it.

First thing that is to be blamed for this is probably my F/T raito.

[Anja]

Hmm I see that you are still under impresion of a particular thread.

Most observant, Anti! ;)

[01011010]

Do get me wrong I eat normaly (3 main meals a day) it is just that I don't link that to any joy.

Same here. Food is fuel. That's it.

People may see food as an emotion because food is usually the centerpiece of celebrations for the majority.

[booyalab]

To me it looks like that more S and F you have you are more likely to think/feel this way.



Yes. One thing I've noticed about my mom, the lone sensor in my family, is that she's the only one who wants to talk about what or where we should eat next time right after we've just left the restaurant. Everyone else objects and acts like they're going to vomit, but she still does it. She's not even overweight or anything. I think sensors are more likely to get excited about the prospect of food.

[ewomack]

I'm afraid of my food. At least since I had a diet-related health scare. After all the ingested goo was removed from my diet and the doctors put their probes here and there and... there... my health returned quickly. Now I have a negative Pavlovian reaction to certain foods. Even seeing them on the shelves, safe in their boxes, makes my innards twinge... whew...

[blanclait]

correct me if i'm wrong but
aren't sensors more likely to cope stress by physical means, eg food? i think i read that somewhere. (fat ceo STJ's :D )
i enjoy certain food, but its not that gratifying. i feel its more the occassion than the food itself.

I too don't get when people are obssessed about food in caf.