What’s Really Eating You?

Eating isn’t just eating – is it? In many societies (including ours), food carries with it much more weight than the simple act of feeding our bodies. Mealtime fosters a sense of community and tradition and it also feeds the soul… But sometimes, we all overdo it. Or worse, we use food as an emotional crutch. If you find yourself living to eat instead of eating to live, it could be time to get to the bottom of things – and uncover the emotional roots of your attachments to food.

If you’re not sure that your relationship with food is a healthy one, consider the following two questions:

1. When do you think about food?
Does your urge to eat arise when you’re hungry or when something else triggers you? For instance, if you’re reprimanded for a mistake at work, do you head for the vending machine? Or if you’re smack dab in the middle of making a point during an argument with your boyfriend and he hangs up, do you find yourself armed with a fork at the fridge, tearfully tucking into last night’s mashed potatoes?

If your cravings arise with stress, sadness, anger or even joy, make note of it. Connecting your urge to eat with its emotional cause is step number one to eradicating the comfort food crutch.

2. What foods do you think about?
If you do find that your urges to overeat come with a particular emotion (or a variety of them), look at what foods you crave. For example, foods high in fat and sugar trigger the release of serotonin soon after consumption. This calming neurotransmitter eases the symptoms of depression. When you are not eating, how do you feel about yourself and your world? When you do want to overeat, are you reaching for chocolate and cheeseburgers? These cravings are a clue towards what exactly your mind and spirit are looking for from food.

A healthy attitude toward food is one that seeks nourishment – not medicine.

So what can you do to break this cycle?
First, no matter how uncomfortable, you are going to have to walk through the pain you are avoiding. But since “acting out” with food (or any behavior that assists you in avoiding your feelings), is probably because you don’t really know what that pain is (if you did, you’d be looking for a real cure and not Ben & Jerry’s!), you’re going to have to figure out what’s going on inside. A psychic can help you get a new perspective – and give you some objective insight into the patterns you’ll soon be on your way to breaking.