Comfort Foods and drinks

[Kell_ee001]

Chicken nibbles They're my favourite if I really feel down!

[Haly]

It tends to be loads of different things, depends why I need the comfort food!
A common favourite is chocolate. But sometimes it's mashed potato as my Dad always used to make it for me as a kid and would draw smiley faces in it I love cold mashed potato sandwiches too.

Lately, after my Dad died, I've often had cravings for McDonalds. Not so much now but for the first month it was quite common. In the end I put it down to the fact my body was after salt after crying too much, and I never have salt other than with McDonalds as I hate the stuff. Probably a very good thing the cravings have gone now

Funny how healthy stuff never seems to be craved

[Roberta]

Cauliflower cheese and baked potatoes!

[Stan_Lite]

Originally Posted by Will

That's rather depressing :/

Why?

What's the difference between having a few drinks when one's down as opposed to gorging oneself on chocolate or pizza or whatever?

Do you think that a quick binge on alcohol is worse than a pound of chocolate or a bucket of chicken wings or the like? If so, why?

I'm not having a go, by the way. I would like to know why you think it's depressing to get drunk when you feel down

[Garp]

Alcohol is a depressant, drinking alcohol when you're down just exasperates the problem, rather than helps. Other than that, I see no problem with it, in moderation naturally.

[Stan_Lite]

Agreed about the depressant properties of alcohol but I would think that gorging yourself on unhealthy food would make you feel bloated and uncomfortable and would cause many people to feel guilty - especially those who normally try to eat healthily - I would think that would be as likely to trigger feelings of depression as a few whiskies would.

Edit: Basically, what I'm trying to say is that excessive consumption of any food or drink isn't going to do much good and any short term high one gets will soon be replaced either by feelings of guilt, or a hangover. I don't think alcohol is any worse in this case than anything else (obviously if it becomes a regular thing, that may be something to be concerned about).

[Will]

Originally Posted by Bigstan

Why?

What's the difference between having a few drinks when one's down as opposed to gorging oneself on chocolate or pizza or whatever?

Do you think that a quick binge on alcohol is worse than a pound of chocolate or a bucket of chicken wings or the like? If so, why?

I'm not having a go, by the way. I would like to know why you think it's depressing to get drunk when you feel down

It's a reflection on my knowledge of Dym more than anything and not really wanting to air overly personal things on here I shall try and generalise.

Have some cheese on toast or a piece of cake (which for me are naughty foods - and I know I'm an exception as I take my diet boringly seriously) is a far quicker "fix" than drinking (seeing as I don't really drink anymore - maybe a totaly of 3/4 pints a month if that). I fear drinking for the wrong reasons doesn't help and can accentuate the problem rather than alleviate. Eating a tub of ice cream whilst not overly good for you in terms of psychological and physiological affects will be a lot less severe.

Alcohol used as a magic bullet is dangerous and leads down a very negative spiral.

Of course having a wee dram to loosen yourself up, or a nice glass of red wine just to help you brush away the problem is not a problem. However maybe I read too deeply in between the lines and read it as "drowning sorrows" which to me sounds very dangerous. At least with a bit of gorging of food can have SOME beneficial effects i.e. you're feeding yourself, and arguably will not result to as much damage both psychologically or physically to your body. Worse comes to the worse you can get rid of it Also the ammount of food vs the amount of alcohol is completely disproportionate - drinking a bottle of wine vs having a fry up cannot be compared really... can it? I mean you're never going to binge on enough food to do you as much damage as you'd be able to drink surely?

I know you're not picking a fight Stan, I know you well enough by now!!

[Stan_Lite]

Originally Posted by Will

It's a reflection on my knowledge of Dym more than anything and not really wanting to air overly personal things on here I shall try and generalise.

Have some cheese on toast or a piece of cake (which for me are naughty foods - and I know I'm an exception as I take my diet boringly seriously) is a far quicker "fix" than drinking (seeing as I don't really drink anymore - maybe a totaly of 3/4 pints a month if that). I fear drinking for the wrong reasons doesn't help and can accentuate the problem rather than alleviate. Eating a tub of ice cream whilst not overly good for you in terms of psychological and physiological affects will be a lot less severe.

Alcohol used as a magic bullet is dangerous and leads down a very negative spiral.

Of course having a wee dram to loosen yourself up, or a nice glass of red wine just to help you brush away the problem is not a problem. However maybe I read too deeply in between the lines and read it as "drowning sorrows" which to me sounds very dangerous. At least with a bit of gorging of food can have SOME beneficial effects i.e. you're feeding yourself, and arguably will not result to as much damage both psychologically or physically to your body. Worse comes to the worse you can get rid of it Also the ammount of food vs the amount of alcohol is completely disproportionate - drinking a bottle of wine vs having a fry up cannot be compared really... can it? I mean you're never going to binge on enough food to do you as much damage as you'd be able to drink surely?

I know you're not picking a fight Stan, I know you well enough by now!!

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you Will.

In my opinion, the odd 1 or 2 day alcohol binge will do little or no long term damage to a moderate drinker as will the odd 1 or 2 day food binge to someone who is careful about the food they eat.
Problems arise for both when the excessive behaviour becomes the norm.

Prolonged bouts of either will cause physiological and psychological damage and I don't think either is any worse than the other. To my way of thinking, an obese person who eats to fight the blues will cause themselves as much damage as the heavy drinker who drinks for the same reason.
People who exercise moderation in either will be unlikely to cause problems for themselves as long as they don't allow it to become a habit.

I think our difference of opinion probably stems from our respective attitudes to alcohol. I'm not a moderate drinker by any stretch of the imagination and accept the consequences of my alcohol consumption. I tend to notice that people like yourself, who rarely drink alcohol tend to be more critical of it's excessive use and tend to focus on the negative aspects of it's use.
I agree that drinking alcohol to beat the blues is not a good idea - but neither is sitting with a double chocolate gateau and a spoon

[Jonny69]

There is something deeply pleasing about a glass of good red wine after a crap day at work. I'll rarely drink more than about a 2/3 of a bottle spread out across a week but it just seems to drop my stress and let me know I'm home. I think in total we get through about 2 bottles a week.

Pretty much everyone goes out for a blow-out every now and then though, but I have noticed when I'm stressed I do it more often.

[Muban]

Depends on the reason for comfort food.

Ill - Tea and some lightly buttered golden brown toast

Sad/Depressed - When I feel like that I just don't eat

Cold miserable weather - Sausages, mash and gravy / Haggis, neeps and tatties / Haggis Supper / Cheese fondue