emotions and eating

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

Boy have I had a time of it lately. I've been experiencing alot of

emotions lately - fear, sadness and anxiety. I've been a Food

Anthropologist through this time, and noticed that I definitely reach

for carb-type foods when my emotions are running high. I've also

noticed that I think about food alot when I'm experiencing an

emotional time. Some times, I've eaten to soothe and comfort myself,

other times, I've chosen not to.

The times that I've chosen to sit with the feelings, I've been able

to see that I " m needing attention and a feeling of being loved/cared

for. I've tried some new ways of coping with that set of feelings -

calling a good friend to talk, getting out of the house and walking

(which I love), and giving myself permission to feel those feelings

(I tend to talk myself out of uncomfy feelings such as " get over it "

or " that's a ridiculous way to feel " ). I've made some growth here!

Another tough thing I " m coping with is my 10 year old son's

compulsive eating. He has gained alot of weight since Feb of this

year. He's been dealing with some depression (runs in the family) as

well as ADHD. He's been eating nearly non-stop on all carbs and

sweets. It overwhelms me to see him going through this as it is

exactly what I have gone through so many times in my life. I see his

emotions are very close to the surface; he is very emotional by

nature, but tries so hard to cover it up. He is intuitive and

smart...and sad and using food to cope.

He does see a therapist, but he just started seeing him recently. It

took me a long time to find someone who deals with kids and

depression/ADHD who was also taking new patients. I haven't even

brought up the disordered eating stuff with his therapist yet. I'm

afraid the doc will think I " m nuts! A 10 year old boy on his way to a

full blown eating disorder??

Thanks for listening everyone

Kim

IE since Aug 08