Stop Being Hangry

Yes, that’s spelled right! Negative emotions are often linked with hunger. People often ex-
perience fear, anxiety, and even sadness, in addition to anger resulting from missing
breakfast. Of course, outside factors contribute to anger, but we may increase our anger
due to being hungry. Thus, we may take our hostility out on someone else, even though
the main culprit is a hungry stomach. For example, one study found that spouses who
were hungry were more likely to stick pins in a voodoo doll that looked like their partners.

You may want to try these ideas for bringing your body and brain back into balance.

Managing Your Hunger:

1. Don’t skip breakfast. Somehow you need to maintain a habit of eating a healthy
breakfast. Remember that a little is better than nothing. Make it simple. You might just eat
a cup of Greek yogurt or a bowl of oatmeal. Perhaps you can add a banana or two, per-
haps with a bowl of cereal.
2. Carry snacks. You might carry along a bag brunch of fruits, cheeses, nuts, and whole-
grain crackers. A mid-breakfast/lunch snack may do the trick. (Don’t over-do this, either,
but prevent that awful word, “hanger”.
3. Pick good-quality and nutritional comfort foods. Forget donuts, fries, and chocolates
to boost yourself. Do you realize just how good some fruits and fruit juices really are to
help boost your mood? You might want to often include nuts, berries, and salmon, which
contain a lot of Vitamins B and D.
4. Increase your protein intake. Protein and complex carbohydrates increase serotonin
in your body and help fight anger and depression. Healthy foods that contain protein in-
clude fish and chicken, cheese, and some meats. Complex carbohydrates can be found in
peas, whole grains, and veggies such as broccoli, yams, potatoes, corn, onions, carrots,
lettuce, celery. You may want to research further for a more detailed list.
5. Eat routinely. Eat three meals and possible snacks at the same times each day.
Find Other Ways to Manage Your (H)anger.

1. Practice mindfulness. Learn when you show your anger. Are you usually hungry at those
times? If, so, you know what to do.
2. Positive Thinking. Think of something pleasant. It may be a good memory, or it may be
thinking of an upcoming event that you should enjoy
3. Process your frustrations. You may find a friend or professional counselor to help guide
you to find solutions to your reasons for anger.
4. Pleasantness. If you’re in a good mood, others may notice and be pleasant to you. If
you’re not in a good mood, fake it. The favorable response from others may pay off and di-
vert reasons to be angry.
5. Physical Exertion. Yes, that’s another word for exercise. However, you may be lucky to
combine physical exertion with your routine. For example, while housecleaning you might
dance a little to music as you sweep or mop. You might try early-morning leg-lifting exer-
cises with the beat of a fav tune.
6. Play Music. An upbeat tune often is a key solution to overcoming anger. You might like
songs such as “Don’t worry; Be Happy” or “Happiness Is”. How about Bob Seger’s “Old
Time Rock and Roll”? You might make your own playlists and dance, dance, dance, or exer-
cise, exercise, exercise with the beat. An upbeat song may help a lot when you’re tense. I
remember a couple was mildly arguing. The radio played “Happy Together”; the woman
started singing it aloud and moving with the beat. How could they continue their argu-
ment.
7. Pause. Anger blocks good judgment. Stop before you act irrationally. Think of the conse-
quences of your actions. Pause long enough to resist the temptation to do something you
know you shouldn’t.
Say goodbye to being hangry. Enhance your emotional awareness and avoid excessive hun-
ger to help you to stay contented and calm.