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Snack foods tend not to last long, in my home. It’s the price I’ve always paid for being a stress eater. It feels like a natural impulse to grab a bag of pretzels when I think about doing essays, midterms and presentations.

When stress comes around, and you don’t want to jump to chowing down, what do you do?

First, you have to recognize that the urge to eat when you’re stressed out is normal. Looking for comfort, food provides a quick access to something that makes you happy.

“In short, food is no longer just food, but has become an all purpose medication. Truth is, you have to overeat now because you don’t know any other way to make yourself feel better,” according to psychiatrist Roger Gould.

Food, as Gould puts it, becomes a method for coping with problems in your life. So, to stop yourself from stress eating, just find a better habit.

When you feel stressed, instead of reaching for chips, start working on a hobby. The key thing to remember is: keep it simple. Your hobby should be as easy to do as eating. Exercise certainly falls into that category, but what you do doesn’t have to be physically demanding.

Over time, you’ll have trained yourself to stop looking to food for an escape from stress.

What do I do when I’m feeling tense? I either write a short story, or sing a few lines of “Wicked Game,” by Chris Isaak.

David Loret de Mola can be reached at [email protected]