School assignment

Ask A Therapist OnlineSchool assignment
Carly asked 12 years ago

What would you suggest to a young adult with a LOW income and a family of 4, constantly eating out at restaurants (curious to try new foods), 3-4 times/week? Is there any psychological reasons for someone that constantly eats to try new foods? Thank you : )

1 Answers
Best Answer
Insight Psychological Staff answered 12 years ago

I don’t know that there’s a psychological reason for trying new food, however, we tend to do what is habit as opposed to what is good for us. So even if this family of four cannot afford to be eating out all the time, if this is their habit, it is goiing to take a lot of conscious effort to change that habit. There is a good chance that “eating out” was also a habit in the family of origin (it’s what the parents did in their families when they were children). For these parents “meal time” is understood as eating out, not as preparing food the night before, schedualing an hour for cooking, and then sitting down at the table.

Essentially, this family is going to have to want to change in order to stop this habit. They will then have to make some conscious choices to do things differently (create a new habit). In the meantime, they will most likely find the money to support their current lifestyle, even if it means not having money for other things.