For some people, eating chocolate can be a quick and enjoyable anti-depressant. But for others, the good feelings are followed by a let-down and can make them feel worse.

Australian researchers have found a link between chocolate cravings and personality types.

Professor Gordon Parker, Executive Director of the Sydney-based Black Dog Institute, and Research Assistant Joanna Crawford looked at the benefits of eating chocolate during a depressive episode, and whether there is a link between personality type and craving chocolate to alleviate symptoms.

Depressed People Crave Chocolate

They interviewed 3,000 people and found that 45 percent of people with depression craved chocolate.

"Of those 45 percent, 60 percent found that chocolate improved their mood when they were depressed," Crawford said.

She said people who rate highly on personality styles of irritability, rejection sensitivity, anxious worrying, self-criticism and self-focus (the five personality dimensions associated with emotional dysregulation) generally crave chocolate and use it to soothe their anxiety.

Endorphins and Opioids

Consuming sweet foods, especially chocolate, is thought to release the neurotransmitter beta-endorphin in the hypothalamus, which has an opiate effect on the body.

It is likely that the endorphins and opioids in chocolate help to make people feel more relaxed.

"The opioids are morphine-like and lower pain and that also flows through into mental wellbeing," Professor Parker said.

The study is published in the October 2007 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.

While it might be too much to expect doctors to start prescribing chocolate for depression, Professor Parker said the study proves that chocolate has tangible benefits in fighting mood disorders.

"I think this will be reassuring to many people who will say 'this merely confirms what I have found out over the years'."

Chocolate Is Not Good for Everyone

However, chocolate is not the magic bullet for all people suffering from depression.

An earlier study by the Black Dog Institute published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that for some people, eating chocolate may make their depression worse. It all depends on the attitude of the person eating the chocolate, Professor Parker explained.

Are You a Craver or Emotional Eater?

For the people he described as “cravers”, the anticipation of enjoying the chocolate and the pleasure in eating it, “seems to stimulate the dopamine system in the brain, and provides an enjoyable experience," he said.

"But the emotional eaters, people who eat chocolate to relieve boredom, stress or clinical depression, are looking for an opioid effect to improve their mood," and, sadly, for many this doesn’t work.

At best, the chocolate only provides temporary relief, he said. But this is quickly followed by a return to or even a worsening of their earlier negative state.

But why the chocolate high is so short lived and insufficient to sustain mood in those who eat it for emotional reasons remains unknown.

So – if chocolate works for you, enjoy it! In moderation of course, as it is high in fat and sugar. And be thankful you’re not one of the unlucky chocolate eaters!