Ever had the feeling of not having physical hunger sensations, yet you want to fill your face anyway?
Sometimes, you might genuinely believe you’re hungry, but perhaps all you really need to do is quench your thirst. Incorrect interpretation aside, the deep desire to eat despite not feeling physical hunger is an interesting one.
This isn’t about the bliss point, the tactic of creating the perfect balance of ingredients that makes you want to keep eating. It’s not necessarily about eating due to boredom, nor does it concern not eating enough fat or protein. So, what’s the deal?
The hunger pandemic
I’m talking about the lingering hunger that pervades society. A hunger that slowly but surely leaves you feeling increasingly empty. The kind that can easily turn you into a zombie if it consumes you, or at the very least trap you in your own personal, hellish version of Groundhog Day.
Some might think that the way to lessen the hunger is to eat food. Healthy or unhealthy, it doesn’t matter. It seems like the quickest and easiest (perceived) solution, and it works, albeit temporarily. Maybe boredom does play a role, after all.
The problem is that it’s not so much about taking a big bite of a slice of cake or a crunchy apple. It’s about needing to take a big ‘bite’ out of life to extract a much-needed form of nourishment that’s missing for many of us.
Let’s call it nourishment for the soul.
This probably applies a lot less to those of us who write on this platform. Through the act of writing and sharing our work, we derive great benefits. The cathartic effects. The feeling of accomplishment. Knowing that there’s a place for our words, whether read by others or not.
Hungry for life
Isn’t this the case for many? They’re not just hungry but starving for a dose of life because they’re simply existing.
While extreme fatigue left me no choice but to spend a large amount of time in bed for a week when I was unwell – more time than I have ever spent before – I dosed up on vitamins C and D to support my immune system. Now that I’m pretty much back to feeling normal again, I’ve been thinking about what could be missing, especially for those of us who already have relatively healthy diets but who still experience that ever-present hunger.
The missing nutrients
Maybe we need vitamin sea, not vitamin C. It’s impossible for a good dose of sea air not to do a person good.
Instead of needing an iron supplement, maybe we need to iron out the details of what we really want. Lack of clarity coupled with the mundane is more than enough to drain away one’s life force.
Instead of vitamin B12, maybe we should be our 12-year-old self and have more fun. It’s easy to get swept up in the seriousness of life and always be grown up because…bills.
Do we really need to shovel down more vitamin K in the form of kale, spinach, and broccoli? Or perhaps we just want to feel oK (and the answer isn’t in eating yet more greens). Greens are important, but they’ll never make up for feeling like a tired, hopeless, wreck.
We might think we need to top up on Vitamin E, when what we really need is to just take it Easy. Often easier said than done, but sometimes, taking it easy is more about calming a racing, overwhelmed mind than it is about sitting down and doing nothing.
If you’ve been advised to supplement with real vitamins and minerals, then of course that’s what you should do, but sometimes, as tempting as it is to believe that the answer to some health issues lies in focusing on our diet, which can help to a certain degree, the real issue is that life is a drag, and it’s leaving us depleted.
Eating well but not living well. Living well but not eating well. Both are open to interpretation but still only offer half the benefit. Mention the word ‘nutrients’ to anyone, and they’ll likely think of food and supplements.
But let’s not forget that there are ‘nutrients’ that we can and need to extract from life, too.