Welcome to my blog
Grieving Your Food Addiction
We often end up with an exhaustion kind of sadness. As we dig into the true causes of food addiction, which have everything to do with emotions and childhood, we may feel sad that we were set up for this food addiction.
Overeating and Doing Things that Bring Joy
Little kids, when they're joyfully and passionately absorbed in the things they love doing, completely forget about eating. They literally have no thought of it until they're physically hungry and their bodies start distracting them with the signals to refuel.
When We Distrust Our Bodies’ Hunger Signals
Often we grew up eating because it was technically mealtime according to the clock, or because our parents said so, or for any reason, really: it was a special occasion, there was a new item at the supermarket, you're at a party.
When we Overeat, We Emotionally Abandon Ourselves
So many of us have pain from others who have rejected, abandoned or ignored us, and yet we do the same thing to ourselves when we overeat. Instead, we can stay with the angry, scared, and hurt parts of ourselves.
Emotional Healing: My Last Resort in Healing Food Addiction
The only reason I began to try feeling hard emotions was because I had tried so many things to heal my overeating already, and I was at the end of my rope.
Stress and Physical Symptoms
There are a myriad of health conditions that modern medicine agrees can be triggered by one factor alone: stress. Understandably, the result is that we try to take action to "reduce stress" in our lives to solve these health issues.
My Emotional Control Created Overeating
To heal compulsive eating, I’ve had to open up to being emotionally messy. This is something I’m still working on. I grew up, as many of us did, in a family that valued keeping it all together, where being emotional was reserved for when someone died.
Do You Try to Eliminate “Temptations”?
When we are worried about overeating we often ask your partner or children to not bring certain foods into the house because we feel powerless when they're in front of us. But is this necessary?
Is Your Overeating Triggered by Junk Food Rather than Emotions?
Many people hear about the physically addictive nature of many junk foods, such as sugar or heavily salted and fried foods, and then wonder if their overeating can be fully explained by this.
In a Cold Childhood, Food is a Friend
When we grow up in homes that feel cold or lonely, food can be a way that a child attempts to have some kind of warmth and lovely company.
Waiting Until You’re Hungry to Eat
There can be an iceberg of emotions under the tendency to not wait until we are hungry to eat. Do you tend to overeat if you get hungry? Do you avoid getting very hungry so that you don't binge? There are deeper emotional reasons for the tendency to overeat when we get really hungry.
Healing Food Addiction: Hopelessness and Optimism
It is normal to oscillate between moments of hopefulness and hopelessness as you are healing from overeating. We need to allow ourselves to feel however we feel about the process, meanwhile also reminding ourselves of the truth about the process.
When You’re Scapegoated About Your Overeating
Does your family feel like it's your personal issue that you overeat? Do they view your overeating and possible weight issues as a problem that you have, which is just based on a character flaw or willpower problem?
Stoicism Creates Food Addiction
In our society, stoicism and emotional control is often praised as being strong, admirable, and impressive. But the truth is, it ends up causing us to suppress our painful feelings and use food to do so.
Binge Eating Was Hard to Heal, But Worth It
I'm going to be real with you: healing my binge eating and eating disorders has been incredibly difficult, but I never regret doing any of what I’ve done, because it’s meant I’ve healed them!
Resist Judging Your Overeating
When you overeat, resist the temptation to spiral in shame, self-judgment and fear. Self-judgment only makes binge eating worse.
Binge Eating: Let Your Tears Flow
If you overeat, there's a high likelihood that one of the emotions you're using food to suppress is sadness. The only way to release sadness from your soul is to cry.
Overeating and Boundaries with Your Family
Putting up boundaries with your family about their suggestions, advice, or "help" with your weight and eating is vital for healing your relationship with food. Your family is not entitled to make comments or give advice and suggestions.
Interview with Your Super: Emotional Eating
A while back I did an interview with the company Your Super, where the lovely Kathy Peterman interviewed me about emotional eating.
Food Addiction and Romantic Relationships
What if you use food and drinks when you feel upset about your romantic partnership? Many people who are in relationships use food compulsively to deal with how they feel about how the relationship is going and how it feels for them.