When people eat sweets to fulfill emotions rather than cravings, there may be more at play than just a demanding candy shop. When we’re having emotional or psychological problems, such a bad day at work, problems with a romantic partner, stress about money, etc., we subconsciously crave sweets. Recognizing these desires for what they are and learning their origins is the first step in learning to control them.
Some Reason I Can’t Give Up Sugar
Through consumer feedback and careful observation, we’ve learnt that the thoughts, actions, and routines that appear to result in cravings may be traced back to the people’s formative years. Despite the apparent influence of secondary caregivers, primary caregivers are often the most significant providers of conditioning.
Below, we outline the evidence we’ve gathered from client scenarios to explain how this kind of early-life training occurs and why it might have lasting repercussions. Please consider the following: “You won’t get any dessert until you finish everything on your plate.”
This was a common form of discipline used by our clients’ parents, grandparents, and even babysitters. This approach, intended to teach children self-control, backfired since it made candy into an exceptional reward and motivated them to overeat in order to earn it.
With consistent practice, this strategy becomes second nature. As a result of this trend, kids are continuing to eat long after they are satisfied. They feel obliged to finish their meal with a sugary treat. Sometimes, even after the original purpose has passed, people continue doing it out of habit.
Some of our clientele typically recall receiving snacks as prizes for outstanding grades, good behavior, good sports performance, or other noteworthy accomplishments when they were younger. Only by giving them an excuse can they continue to justify their actions.
The Benefits of Continuous Practice
As a result of this conditioning, many adults report an increased craving for sweets following professional or personal achievement.
Sadly, the parents of numerous of our customers did a lot of negative conditioning by giving their children candy to quiet them down. Children were consoled with candy to prevent them from being upset or misbehaving.
Implications of Continuous Practice: Because of this instruction, our customers frequently sought instant relief from unpleasant sensations by turning to sugary snacks rather than facing their problems head-on.
One client’s upbringing was challenging, and she struggled with her weight as a result. Her grandmother had tried to ease her burden by spending time with her and treating her to fish and chips on a regular basis. For this buyer, they were not just food memories, but exquisite, very personal ones.
Consequences of Constant Practice Without realizing it, this client began to immediately seek solace in a meal of fish and chips anytime she felt any negative emotion, such as anger, grief, disappointment, or fear. This followed naturally from those traumatic events. The client gained insight into the nature of her aspirations upon learning about the conditioning reaction. She was confused as to why she’d even had them before. As was mentioned before, this is usually the first step on the road to recovery.
Several of our customers have mentioned that they struggle with self-control when it comes to sweets because they were either forbidden from consuming them or faced consequences if they did.
The long-term conditioned response to free candy is an increased drive to consume as much as possible.
Finally, one of our customers only remembered like candy as a kid. We determined that the client’s mother’s “sugar addiction” was the “problem component.” Her mother not only structured their days around where they might buy sweets, but she also clearly enjoyed eating them herself.
Consequences of Long-Term Conditioning: As an Adult, the Client Continually Considered Sweets. She admitted that she constantly fantasized about desserts while doing anything from working to shopping to driving to socializing. She was obviously experiencing a decline in her health and general happiness as a result. Thankfully, a single hypnosis session and a CD for at-home use solved the issue.
Conclusion
Feel free to contribute your own experiences if you’ve ever experienced an emotional aversion to sweets, the causes of which have already been explained. We welcome the opportunity to answer your questions and offer our help. This article’s main intent is to raise awareness about the possibility that people’s involuntary psychological or habitual behavioral response to sweets is to crave those foods.
