Nourishing Emotions With Food – Part I
He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
In retrospect I think I have always been what I would now term a "celebratory eater" perhaps better known as a binge eater
You know, the week is finished and I've worked hard and it's now time to "party on down" The phrase "Go ahead, you deserve it" creates the visual of eat, drink, and be merry
But now as I've watched this process and understand the phrase "Eat to live not live to eat" I'm beginning to realize that my celebratory eating is actually another term for processing emotions with food
Somewhere in inner space unresolved conflicts and pent up emotions are in some way soothed by the taste whether it came in the form of wine, food, or both Am I hungry? Sure Do I need so much? No
But in extending this line of thought a bit, more uncomfortable social settings might allow for the same triggering for the need for food at times when we need to calm those screaming fears of survival Even though it seems totally irrational(whoever said the mind was rational especially with its fears) these fears bring us back to when we were confronted by a sabertooth cat on the savanna
Why is it that mixers have food around?
Although we all know this to be true, we talk very little about it because it's not chic to express our fears outwardly or even inwardly But in the end emotions are borne of our fears even love I'm not talking here about love on the cosmic level but at individual levels
The issue is this We will never "get real" with our fears unless we can acknowledge them Otherwise they own us and keep us captive
Soooooo……here are some tips for dealing with food and emotional eating
1 Always ask ourselves why we are eating especially when we are not hungry
2 Ask ourselves why we are overeating
3 Never expect an answer from the first two questions but wait and listen
4 Freely be willing to admit to yourself or to someone you're talking to that you're eating because you are scared(interesting ice breaker-turns cold into hot)
In other words these tips are to make us better witnesses to our own individual eating behavior patterns and not to be impatient in the process
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Wansink is a another source of information suggesting that witnessing or being mindful is an important step in emotional and addictive eating
Have you noticed patterns of eating that are emotionally driven?
Until tomorrow Part II To health as a Skill Love DrBill
