EATING DISORDERS AND FOOD
ADDICTION
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We all need food to survive.
The ubiquity of food in our society makes the abuse of food, and how we relate to ourselves around eating, one of the most ongoing, confusing, and complex dilemmas many of us face. We often try to soothe difficult emotions with food and sugar, which are temporary fixes and can lead to shame, discouragement, and mistreatment of ourselves. It’s easy to feel alone among all the confusing messages we receive about diet and how to lose weight. Dieting or denying ourselves what we want seem to work for a limited time only. It can feel impossible to get proper help.
The ways our society has taught us to eat are distorted and have little to do with keeping us healthy. Many of us do not realize the impact food has on our physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. We use food to feel better, or to punish ourselves. We restrict ourselves, or indulge. We learn to mask feelings with food. We use food to soothe the effects of trauma; as a reward; as a means of escape. Sugar often resides in the heart of food addiction because it offers the hope of feeling better. It is my belief that struggles with food stem from unresolved relational dynamics: ways your needs went unmet or neglected, and how you manage them. I can help you take better care of your needs, and help you uncover what lies beneath eating patterns. Though I can help with the emotional complexities of food and eating, I also refer to professionals who are experts in health and nutrition. It is possible to begin feeling better when you begin to distinguish between what you need emotionally, and what your body needs. |
