stress, we eat the cookies, and we really do
feel better.
This creates two problems, however. The
first is that, during stress, these strong opioid
and dopamine responses in the reward center
of your brain promote the encoding of habits.
Future stress triggers you to remember the
relief you experienced the last time you ate
those cookies. Memories of these responses
are stored in your brain and you quickly
establish a learned behavior—a “want” for
more cookies. Which means that the next time
you’re stressed, you’ll find yourself
automatically reaching for the cookies.
CRANKY COOKIE
Stress eating can promote habit-
driven overeating even in the
absence of active stress. So as a
result of the stress-related habits
you’ve created, you may find