You’re not really hungry—but something still pulls you toward the kitchen
The house is dark
The silence feels loud
You’re not sure why you got up
You stand in front of the fridge
Not reaching, just looking
Light floods your face
You aren’t starving
You had dinner
You remember chewing, swallowing, even feeling full
But now, it’s different
Now you want something sweet
Or salty
Or soft
Now you want something sweet
You open the cupboard
Not because you’re hungry
But because your hands remember where comfort lives
They know the wrappers
The jars
The bags that don’t need heating or thought
You stare at a granola bar
Not wanting it
But needing the idea of it
The ease
The sugar
The distraction
You eat without sitting
You barely taste it
Not wanting it but needing the idea of it
You go back to bed
Slightly full
Not satisfied
You turn over, wait for sleep
It takes longer now
You feel heavy, but not whole
And you don’t know why
It’s not just food
It’s something else
It’s something older
Something tired
That keeps knocking
Every time the day ends
And no one else is watching
Something tired that keeps knocking
You start to wonder
Is it boredom?
Is it loneliness?
Is it habit?
You scroll your phone
You remember something someone said once
Cravings are unmet needs dressed as hunger
You sit with that idea
Let it breathe
And you begin asking yourself
What didn’t I feel today?
What didn’t I say?
What went quiet too long?
Cravings are unmet needs dressed as hunger
You try not eating one night
Not out of discipline
But out of curiosity
You notice the discomfort
Not physical—but emotional
You want to soothe
You want to disappear into something simple
But the craving doesn’t pass
It lingers
Like an open tab in your mind
You drink water
You stretch
Still—it’s there
Still asking to be fed
Like an open tab in your mind
You try journaling
It helps a little
You light a candle
Breathe deeply
You listen to your body
And realize—it’s not your body asking
It’s your heart
Your body doesn’t need a cookie
It needs a pause
It needs a moment that says
I see you
You did enough today
You can rest now
Your body doesn’t need a cookie
You think back to childhood
To snacks on the couch
TV humming in the dark
Hands in a bowl
A rhythm of reaching and chewing
Safety in the repetition
No one questioned it then
It just was
Comfort
Closeness
Control in the shape of a chip or cracker
And you carried it with you
Safety in the repetition
You begin to track your cravings
They don’t follow hunger
They follow emotion
After hard days
After silence
After feeling unseen
They come when your boundaries feel bruised
When your day was full of holding it together
You open the freezer
Not for dessert
But for relief
A cold softness that asks nothing
Just melts
A cold softness that asks nothing
You try resisting again
This time not through force
But through care
You make tea
You sit in the quiet
You don’t scroll
You don’t grab
You just sit
And the craving pulses
Then quiets
Then disappears
Not always
But sometimes
And that sometimes feels like freedom
The craving pulses then quiets
You learn to eat more during the day
Not to avoid the night
But to nourish the now
You add more protein
More fat
More fiber
You notice less urgency after dinner
You feel steadier
More present
Less pulled by invisible strings
Your nighttime body no longer panicked
Because your daytime body is being heard
Your daytime body is being heard
You start changing your evening routine
You dim lights
You slow down earlier
You stop checking email
You stop skipping dinner
You stop rushing bedtime
You learn that food is not the only way to soften
Sometimes, it’s a blanket
A bath
A kind word to yourself
Sometimes, it’s just going to bed on time
And letting rest do what snacks can’t
Letting rest do what snacks can’t
You still crave things
You still reach, sometimes
But now, you ask
Why
What does this really want from me?
You don’t always know
But the asking helps
You become curious
Not ashamed
You meet your craving like an old friend
Not an enemy
And in that shift, something changes
Maybe not the craving
But your relationship to it
You meet your craving like an old friend
Now, when you eat at night
It’s different
You sit
You taste
You choose
Not react
You say yes to chocolate
But not from urgency
From softness
From being in tune
With yourself
With the moment
And it feels less like escaping
More like arriving