Eating... for Hunger or for Happiness?

Emotional eating (eating to feel happy) isn't something I gave much thought to until I read that one should ask oneself - before having a snack - Am I really hungry? Or am I feeling down?

When I was a teacher, I often felt I needed a (sweet) snack right after the last class was over. My energy was spent - yet I had a pile of marking to tackle. No fun there... a quick energy boost needed... grab a chocolate bar or a piece of cake, if the school cafeteria was still open...














But I truly realized how I CRAVE FOOD to make me feel HAPPY when I took my mother to a series of interviews / evaluations at the Geriatric Day Hospital about a year ago.

I had never heard of a Geriatric Assessment until I mentioned to a colleague that I was concerned about my mother: Occasionally she would forget important pieces of her personal history - and now she had tripped in the hall of her apartment building and hurt her knee.

Has she had a Geriatric Assessment? my colleague asked.

What is that? I wanted to know.

A nurse and other medical professions will test her balance, memory, reasoning - inquire about her diet - and look over her home to see if it is safe for her to live in. Stuff like that...

The next time I accompanied my mother on a visit to her family doctor, I asked about it.

That probably would be a good idea, her doctor replied. I'll set one up.

So that is how, a few months later, I was driving her to a series of weekly appointments at the hospital - and my mother was steaming mad!

What are they going to do? Put me in a home? she demanded grimly.

As people age, changes occur. They're going to see how they can help you. Nobody is going to force you to do anything you don't want to do, I replied.

When I left her with the nurse - and was told to be back in an hour - I headed straight to the cafeteria, for coffee and a doughnut... I felt awful.

As I sat there, drowning my sorrows in 500 calories I didn't need, I felt a bit better. If my child were sick but didn't want to see a doctor, I'd make him go, I rationalized. My mother moved across the country - of her own free will - for the express purpose of having me help her in her old age. Now I need professional guidance. I have to do this... for her and for me.

As hard as it was to go through - the geriatric test was very useful for me, and for my mother. The medical team suggested my mother use a cane, have a grab-bar installed in her bathroom, have 911 taped to her telephone (as she was confused about what to do in case of a fire in her kitchen). A doctor prescribed medication to slow down the Alzheimers that had begun to manifest itself.

The experience was a real eye-opener for me, too. I began to realize that I would have to monitor my mother more. And I would also have to monitor myself too... because whenever I felt down, I turned to FOOD for comfort. And that is not a healthy habit for a type 2 diabetic, like me - or for anyone else, for that matter!