Emotions, Feelings, and Urges

Avoid equating bodily urges with either emotions or feelings. For example, “Really hungry for some chicken, or ice cream, or a soda” is neither an emotion nor a feeling. It is an urge that may be triggered by physiological hunger, thirst, boredom, emotions, feelings, etc. It may represent genuine hunger or not. Instead it may represent a desire to “feel better” on the part of the individual who may be bored or feeling out of sorts and who has learned that food—especially food that is high on the addictive-like substance list—can make them feel better quite quickly. Dairy cheese, chicken, and pizza are among the top twelve on such a list. If you crave food, ask yourself: “When did you last eat? Is it reasonable that you would be genuinely hungry and experiencing hunger pangs yet?” Drink a large glass of water and evaluate how you feel in twenty or thirty minutes. Often people think they are hungry when they really are thirsty and just never learned to identify a clear thirst signal. A related problem is that whenever a baby is fussy, some parents give them a bottle of formula. Therefore, the child may grow up not having learned the difference between hunger pangs and thirst. In addition, one’s thirst sensation may diminish with older age.