If political turmoil is making you stress eat, science and Twitter say you aren’t alone

Does the current political climate make you feel blue? Do you find yourself wanting more and more fattening foods to overcompensate for the fear? Well, there’s now science behind why that is. No really, you’re not crazy for wanting that mac-n-cheese.

There are plenty of craving articles out there that look at the cravings we feel at certain points in our days. Really, when you think about it, we crave some pretty weird things throughout our lives.

But this week/month/year has been a pretty stressful time for us all. The political climate in our country isn’t exactly easy right now, and our waistlines are suffering because of it. The science behind it is simple: when we’re stressed, we eat sugar to compensate for our stress levels.

We’re just listening to our bodies, okay? Pass the chocolate.

 When we’re stressed, we tend to love chocolate or sweets. Or when we need comfort, we turn to foods that feel cozy and familiar. We all have our traditional go-tos, and now there are plenty of studies that suggest why we pig out whenever we’re overwhelmed.

So stress eating isn’t as lonely as we originally thought!

According to studies, our stress eating capabilities come from our DNA,  as well as a whole slew of other components. Our hormones and even the sight, sound, and smell of a room can send us on a craving ride. And stress is a biggie.

Mother Jones‘ food podcast, Bite, asked their followers on what their comfort food go-tos are and the responses ranged across the map!

Some people have specific cravings.

Others want childhood favorites.

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But naturally Stephen King picks a classic.

Too bad we’ve all had to turn to our own comfort food after reading some of your stories, Stephen. But at least this shines a little light on everyone’s stress food picks.

When you stop and think about all the people out there munching on chocolate or even plantains, the world feels a little less lonely. With the stress our current political climate is causing, as well as the normal stress factors in our own lives, it isn’t hard to see why snacking might be up.

At least we all know now that we’re not alone in our stress eating adventures.