Integrative Family Medicine of Iowa
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Services >
      • Mental Health >
        • Ketamine Therapy
        • Alpha-Stim®
      • Family Practice >
        • Men's Health
        • Pediatrics
        • Urgent Care
      • Aesthetics
      • FemiLift
      • Health Coaching
      • IV Infusions
    • Providers >
      • Kara Dobelis
      • Sarah Lee
      • Dianna O'Neill
      • Danielle Fitch
      • Kala Jurno
      • Spencer Elmer
  • Blog
  • Book Appointment
  • PATIENT
    • Patient Portal
    • Patient Forms
    • HIPAA Privacy Notice
    • 2025 Practice Updates
  • Billing
    • Pay My Bill
  • Contact Us


2/12/2023

Can Your Mood Affect How Much You Eat ?

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture

What does appetite mean exactly? We like to think of it in terms of a desire for food. But it is actually more properly termed as the power that tends us toward some object that we see as good which acts through the body. Even if the object is bad for us, we can still seek it under the notion of the apparent good (this is where we have mistakenly assessed it as good). For instance, we all know appetite in relation to food but this word can apply to many things, like a tendency toward hard work or pleasure of some kind. Thankfully, we are focusing on food and drink so we don’t have to worry about those other things.

There are two types to go over – the concupiscible and the irascible. The concupiscible appetite is a tendency toward a good or away from an evil in a simple sense whereas the irascible appetite comes when one has to overcome some obstacle to satisfy the concupiscible appetite. We have inclinations that impel us toward things that are hard or difficult to attain (arduous) like completing your degree or building something. These appetites are moved by our senses, imagination, association power and intellect. 


To illustrate these points, let me give an example using myself. I have an appetite (concupiscible) for chips and salsa. If I see chips and salsa, my appetite is moved (I tend towards eating them because they taste good!). Here my senses moved the appetite (I saw and smelled them while tasting them will further move it). If I think about them without them present (with my imagination, memory, intellect, association power), then I will move my appetite still. My body chemistry actually changes in response to this movement. The irascible appetite is aroused if I have to drive a long distance to get them (an obstacle I have to overcome). I might exhibit an annoyance that I have to drive to get this but this emotion drives me to overcome that long drive. Both appetites will have their respective emotions or passions which is what we will move to next. 
The six passions of the concupiscible appetite include: love, hate, desire, flight, delight and sorrow. Love drives all of the others. The five passions of irascible appetite include: hope, despair, audacity, fear, and anger. What I will attempt to do is to try to relate these passions or emotions to what we eat and drink. 

Love, as part of the concupiscible appetite, is a movement toward a good or pleasant object. For example, the chips and salsa. If the chips and salsa are here and attainable, then the love for it generates an actual desire. Once I obtain the chips and salsa, the desire comes to fruition in joy and delight. But if some other thing impedes that attainment, then the irascible passion of anger (irritation, annoyance, etc) will be stirred up against this impediment and urge us to overcome it. Once it is out of the way, joy or delight returns. The same can be said to avoid evil things (which is moved by a love for the good and in this instance, avoiding evil is good).

​For example, let’s say I gain more knowledge that eating too many chips and salsa is bad for my health and so now my object of love is my body’s well-being. However, I find eating broccoli and other healthy foods difficult to eat. Love for my health moves me to desire to eat better though. However, the impediment to this is my attachment to chips and salsa. In other words, my love for the pleasure that chips and salsa brings me when I eat it. Hence, because this is arduous, an irascible passion will now arise. Which comes depends on the person and where they are at with dealing with this arduous task. One person may have hope where he hopes in his or another’s capacity to get him to come to the good (eating healthier and ridding himself of his attachment to chips and salsa).

Another person may despair where he thinks there is no way he will ever get over this addiction as he does not see it as possible to obtain. This happens because he sees the object of being healthier exceeding his capacity to obtain it. If and when the person does overcome this arduous task, he returns to delight as he has obtained masterful control of his attachment. Of course, true mastery is difficult to get so he can fall back into eating chips and salsa without moderation which then elicits anger as the evil of his addiction has returned and is present. This anger, though, helps one move back towards overcoming this attachment. If is overcome again, one goes back to delight and if not, one can move towards sorrow or depression (because the present evil of this attachment to chips and salsa is still here). Of course, with aid, one can be moved back to hope and eventually joy/delight. 


You can see the complexity that the human mind and brain contains. Multiple emotions can come from each emotion in this process – I only illustrated a few. These emotions move through us so quickly that we never think about it. But to gain mastery over yourself in this way, you should try to understand these kinds of emotions better! If you know how you respond well to such impediments, then we can begin to draw out the reasons why you may think you cannot overcome the arduous task of overcoming a certain attachment to a certain bad food. If you know that you despair when thinking about losing weight to achieve a healthier state, why is that? Why do you despair? What makes you think that you cannot overcome the hard task of avoiding bad foods and eating good foods? By asking yourself these questions, you are exercising your capabilities of reasoning out what the problem is and finding a solution to overcome that problem and give yourself hope again. By giving yourself hope again, you will then begin to be moved to overcome this hard task. 

The point I want to make is that we need to rightly order our passions of both appetites so that we can make good choices. Remember that there are instances where it is reasonable to feel fear or despair because when one reasons out that one truly cannot overcome something, then it is reasonable to feel this way. Like desiring to see a parent who recently died but knowing that this is impossible (in this life) since that person is dead so one appropriately can move the passions of sorrow, despair and anger. 
​

The key question is: are you truly despairing in a reasonable way with trying to eat healthier? Is it really un-attainable? Or is it that you are letting your appetite for pleasure override what is reasonable? It is reasonable to maintain a healthy balanced diet because that is a true good for your body. Eating outside these boundaries occurs because of a disordered appetite. We must orient ourselves back to controlling our appetites. This will be the subject of a future blog but as a preview, the answer to getting control again is to perform acts that are truly good for you. With regards to your diet, keeping a food journal is a good first step. It keeps you informed of your bad eating habits so that your intellect and will can make more reasonable choices moving forward. By strengthening them through journaling and practice of eating healthier, you begin to take control over your disordered appetites and thus gain more hope that you can indeed overcome this difficult task. 
Learn More About Dr Hoelscher/Schedule An Appointment

Share

0 Comments


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

Blog Info

    Archives

    May 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020

    Categories

    All
    ADHD
    Aesthetics
    Aging
    Alpha Stim
    Anxiety
    Baby
    Back To School
    Baking
    Banana
    Bipolar Disorder
    Birth To Three
    Brain Development
    Brain Health
    Breakfast
    Child Attachment
    Children
    Chocolate
    Chocolate Spread
    Cooking
    COVID-19
    COVID Testing
    COVID Vaccine
    Depression
    Dessert
    Detox
    Diet
    Digestion
    DIY
    Eggs
    Family
    Family Rules
    Family Vacation
    Fear
    Feeding
    Food Dehydration
    Food Treats
    Garden
    Gut Health
    Health
    Health Coaching
    Healthy Choices
    Heath
    Holistic
    Holistic Medicine
    Homemade
    Homeschooling
    Hormones
    Hunger
    IFM
    IFM Caregivers
    IFM Experience
    Immune Function
    Immune System
    Individualized Care
    Infant
    Inflammation
    Informed Choice
    Insomnia
    Integrative Medicine
    Interruptions
    Intimate Health
    IV Therapy
    Kids Travel
    Kids Yoga
    Laser Treatments
    Medical Tests
    Medical Treatments
    Men
    Menopause
    Men's Health
    Mental Distress
    Mental Health
    Metabolic System
    Migraine
    Mornings
    Neurological Health
    Northgate Cafe
    Nutrition
    Pacifiers
    Pain
    Parenting
    Parent Tips
    Pediatric
    Pediatric Sensory Development
    Postpartum
    Pregnancy
    Preventative Medicine
    Primary Care
    Primary-care-provider
    Ptsdtrauma
    Quality-of-life
    Recipe
    Reduced-sugar
    Rest
    Rhubarb
    Rich-soil
    Routine
    Safety-rules
    Sauerkraut
    Services
    Skin Problems
    Sleep
    Sleep-disturbance
    Snacks
    Stories
    Stress
    Suicide
    Teething
    Testosterone
    The-brain
    Thumbsucking
    Toddler
    Vacation
    Vegetables
    Vitamin
    Vitamin-b12
    Vitamin-d
    Water-safety
    Weight-loss
    Women-in-wellness
    Womens Health
    Worry
    Yoga
    Your Body

    RSS Feed


Picture
Picture
Send us an Email
[email protected]
Picture
Give us a Call
515-218-1399
​515-217-4695 (fax)
Picture
Visit our Locations
IFM | West Des Moines 
475 S. 50th St., Suite 600
West Des Moines, IA, 50265


*Temporarily Closed*
IFM | Ankeny
​207 NE Delaware Ave. Suite 20
Ankeny, IA 50021

Office Hours


​Monday:  9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday :  9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday:   9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday:   9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday:  by appointment.
Sat & Sun:  
Closed


Picture
© 2024 Integrative Family Medicine of Iowa, PLLC.
​All rights reserved.
Photos from shixart1985, wuestenigel
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Services >
      • Mental Health >
        • Ketamine Therapy
        • Alpha-Stim®
      • Family Practice >
        • Men's Health
        • Pediatrics
        • Urgent Care
      • Aesthetics
      • FemiLift
      • Health Coaching
      • IV Infusions
    • Providers >
      • Kara Dobelis
      • Sarah Lee
      • Dianna O'Neill
      • Danielle Fitch
      • Kala Jurno
      • Spencer Elmer
  • Blog
  • Book Appointment
  • PATIENT
    • Patient Portal
    • Patient Forms
    • HIPAA Privacy Notice
    • 2025 Practice Updates
  • Billing
    • Pay My Bill
  • Contact Us