3 Weird Reasons Why I Eat Crisps

Crisps as flowers in snow. Hotel room in Prague with crispy curtain. 2018.

Crisps as flowers in snow. Hotel room in Prague with crispy curtain. 2018.

Thinking deeper about crisps (or “chips” if you’re from the US!) I found three unexpected ways that they contain creatively nutritious thoughts about mental health and productivity!

Yup.. eating crisps got me thinking about existence and psychological break-throughs! Well firstly, I will be honest here and I say I love the salt.. Frankness is my new thing. That’s why I’m writing a blog.. Talking of humour, I thought that writing about crisps for my first blog entry would be funny!


Mental health is as important as physical health and is connected to it.

Have you heard of humorism? I thought it was a Shakespearean thing but it turns out that relating moods to organs stems from Ancient Greek Medicine.

So what are these three surprising connections between crisps, mental health and productivity? I sense you salivating.. Hold on, there are just a couple of things I’d like to check with you..

  • By productivity, I mean ANYTHING important to you, that you'd like to do. It could be taking a rest, having a shower, or gentle exercise. It could be starting to communicate with someone when it feels hard to do so, working on your thesis, cleaning the house.

  • Secondly, I am aware that many people say that crisps aren't that healthy because they often contain a lot of salt. I’m not saying that they are the only or best food. I try to eat them in moderation, in order to control my salt and high cholesterol intake! Please don't be going around telling people I said they are “healthy”.  I’m just thinking, if people are going to be eating crisps anyway, some people might also enjoy thinking about their deeper meaning..

Now, are you ready for the CRUNCH?

Keep reading for the three reasons I love crisps, which relate to mental health and productivity!

1. Sometimes you just want to drown out the sound of people talking to you

cant-hear-you.png

Rude though it sounds, sometimes we just want some peace and quiet. Or at least to be able to enjoy a few moments without being disturbed. Crisps help you to do this because each crisp is like a percussion instrument, creating a pleasurable vacuum where the sensation of sound is situated between your ears.

2. It feels like you accomplished something

Crisp and matching curtain. Is satisfying delicious food a kind of interior design?

Crisp and matching curtain. Is satisfying delicious food a kind of interior design?

I find the sharp edges and rough sensation on my tongue of most crisps makes for a highly dynamic and textural sensory experience. Loaded though this language may be, I will admit that crunching a crisp up feels like a mini battle - one from which I emerge not only having successfully achieved something but victorious!

Feeling of the main reasons that I feel overwhelmed is I tried to do too much at once. Even thinking about how to approach a task, such as figuring out how to use Zoom (in lockdown times!), learning a new piece of music, or (in my case tomorrow) unblocking a garden drain can feel overwhelming without breaking it down into small steps. 

With crisps, this has already been done for you! And after a few crunches, I feel as though I have achieved something.

The pleasure in feeling the satisfaction of having achieved something relates to the human need for competence (Self-Determination theory developed by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan).

So.. this could be a delicious reminder to break up tasks into smaller steps. 

3. You want nothing more than to dive into the mesmerising, intergalactic silveriness

Silvery interior of a packet of crisps I finished yesterday.

Silvery interior of a packet of crisps I finished yesterday.

When I first heard that children were playing with glitter slime that it got me thinking about how people value sober psychedelic adventures! The next time you eat a packet of crisps, instead of just discarding that environment-burdening plastic, take a moment to really appreciate the splendour of the silver within. 

As well as noisy foods, I enjoy using absurdity to improve my mental health.

What do crisps symbolise for you?

Perhaps this will get you thinking about mental health and productivity the next time you jump in a packet of salty snacks!

NEXT POST: "How I use poetry-writing to cope with stress"

 
mental healthThe Mollusc Dimensioncrisps, sensory