Healing The True Cause Of Your Food And Weight Issues
December 23rd, 2010 07:56 AM
Body weight and diet have been favourite topics in our society for many years. Dieting is a billion-dollar industry, and it is ever growing. Why? Because it does not address the problem, and so does not find a solution except for temporary results. The need for dieting is often a symptom of deeper suffering that is rarely examined.
I suffered from an eating disorder for more than 20 years, and have been fully healed for about 15 years. I had tried every method to become slim (when I was already skinny but did not believe it.) I know the hell of compulsion and the feelings related to it. I never dreamt I could ever free myself. The fact that I could promises that there is hope.
Overeating
The compulsion to eat too much and to eat when not hungry is an addiction as much as any other substance addiction -- characterized by loss of control, compulsion and its continuation despite negative consequences. As with any addiction, the problem is not in the substance.
It is not the food which causes your addiction, it is your mind. Overeating serves to numb feelings and negative thoughts that may otherwise intrude into your awareness and cause you to feel anxious and overwhelmed. A part of you wants to overeat to avoid worse pain. Don’t think that if you change foods or go on a diet you will solve the problem of overeating. You won’t. Overeating is a symptom of suffering, not its cause.
Some think they eat because of boredom or because they enjoy it, but the bottom line is that a part of us wants to use food to numb ourselves because it is scared to be overwhelmed with feelings of aloneness, helplessness, anger or other feelings. The next time you want to overeat, try to remove yourself from the food and allow yourself instead to feel what wants to emerge from inside. Relax and ask what you are feeling.
If you feel overwhelmed, here is a simple, powerful method. Lie down and put one hand on your forehead just above the eyebrows and the other hand at the base of your skull for a few minutes. This helps heal emotional distress and calms you down. To recognize such repressed feelings and let them go will help you gradually free yourself from the prison of compulsion.
With myself and my clients I can testify that when we let go of negative beliefs about ourselves, we see our world with different, more loving eyes, and we don’t need to numb ourselves anymore. The problem and therefore the symptom fall away.
Weight issues
Weight issues may or may not be related to your way of eating. In my practice, people start to lose weight when we identify their unconscious motivations to keep excess weight, even if they eat normally. Among these:
Fear that becoming slimmer would make one sexually attractive, but not knowing how to deal with that -- fear of becoming unfaithful, or of being sexually abused (again).
Using the pretext of being too fat to avoid coping with career and other life issues.
Being unhappy because of self hate (while believing that unhappiness is because of body size.)
We are very skilled at creating one problem in order to “protect” us from an even worse one. This is all done unconsciously, hidden from our awareness. Try completing this sentence: “I’d rather overeat than feel…,” in order to find out what you want to avoid. Or complete the sentence: “I’d rather be heavy than having (being, etc) …”
You may also ask yourself a few questions, such as: “What am I so scared of? How would my life be without this problem? Whom do I want to punish and blame with this issue?” Feel what comes up for you. Whatever that may be, stay with it and let yourself feel these feelings. You may receive helpful insights that then allow you to make new choices.
You may want to go a step further and remember that all negative beliefs about yourself and others are untrue, because we are spirit, whole and innocent. Our true nature is love and peace, and these negative beliefs only serve to keep us away from this realization. When we feel bad, we can always change our minds and choose to remember what we truly are. Find out for yourself!
Marlise Witschi, M.Psych., is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, practicing in Whistler and West Vancouver. 778.828.8773. www.internalfreedom.com
Editor's note: The title Marlise provided with her June-July article was “The law of attraction and your power to heal yourself.” We published a shorter headline that changed what she meant.
Copyright North Shore Magazine Issue Aug - Sep 07
I suffered from an eating disorder for more than 20 years, and have been fully healed for about 15 years. I had tried every method to become slim (when I was already skinny but did not believe it.) I know the hell of compulsion and the feelings related to it. I never dreamt I could ever free myself. The fact that I could promises that there is hope.
Overeating
The compulsion to eat too much and to eat when not hungry is an addiction as much as any other substance addiction -- characterized by loss of control, compulsion and its continuation despite negative consequences. As with any addiction, the problem is not in the substance.
It is not the food which causes your addiction, it is your mind. Overeating serves to numb feelings and negative thoughts that may otherwise intrude into your awareness and cause you to feel anxious and overwhelmed. A part of you wants to overeat to avoid worse pain. Don’t think that if you change foods or go on a diet you will solve the problem of overeating. You won’t. Overeating is a symptom of suffering, not its cause.
Some think they eat because of boredom or because they enjoy it, but the bottom line is that a part of us wants to use food to numb ourselves because it is scared to be overwhelmed with feelings of aloneness, helplessness, anger or other feelings. The next time you want to overeat, try to remove yourself from the food and allow yourself instead to feel what wants to emerge from inside. Relax and ask what you are feeling.
If you feel overwhelmed, here is a simple, powerful method. Lie down and put one hand on your forehead just above the eyebrows and the other hand at the base of your skull for a few minutes. This helps heal emotional distress and calms you down. To recognize such repressed feelings and let them go will help you gradually free yourself from the prison of compulsion.
With myself and my clients I can testify that when we let go of negative beliefs about ourselves, we see our world with different, more loving eyes, and we don’t need to numb ourselves anymore. The problem and therefore the symptom fall away.
Weight issues
Weight issues may or may not be related to your way of eating. In my practice, people start to lose weight when we identify their unconscious motivations to keep excess weight, even if they eat normally. Among these:
Fear that becoming slimmer would make one sexually attractive, but not knowing how to deal with that -- fear of becoming unfaithful, or of being sexually abused (again).
Using the pretext of being too fat to avoid coping with career and other life issues.
Being unhappy because of self hate (while believing that unhappiness is because of body size.)
We are very skilled at creating one problem in order to “protect” us from an even worse one. This is all done unconsciously, hidden from our awareness. Try completing this sentence: “I’d rather overeat than feel…,” in order to find out what you want to avoid. Or complete the sentence: “I’d rather be heavy than having (being, etc) …”
You may also ask yourself a few questions, such as: “What am I so scared of? How would my life be without this problem? Whom do I want to punish and blame with this issue?” Feel what comes up for you. Whatever that may be, stay with it and let yourself feel these feelings. You may receive helpful insights that then allow you to make new choices.
You may want to go a step further and remember that all negative beliefs about yourself and others are untrue, because we are spirit, whole and innocent. Our true nature is love and peace, and these negative beliefs only serve to keep us away from this realization. When we feel bad, we can always change our minds and choose to remember what we truly are. Find out for yourself!
Marlise Witschi, M.Psych., is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, practicing in Whistler and West Vancouver. 778.828.8773. www.internalfreedom.com
Editor's note: The title Marlise provided with her June-July article was “The law of attraction and your power to heal yourself.” We published a shorter headline that changed what she meant.
Copyright North Shore Magazine Issue Aug - Sep 07
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