Guest guest Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks, everyone, for your responses to this. Of course, these are coping mechanisms which I've adopted and I think the frequency has increased due to my anxiety about weight gain and loss of control. I am in therapy currently and my counselor said a couple of really wonderful things to me. She asked me why I would judge myself harshly for turning to the things I KNOW. True, shopping and smoking and overeating are not the most healthy or positive ways to soothe myself but feeling like a failure only compounds things. Somehow, that thought helped me define " being gentle with myself " - which always seemed hard to grasp. These things have been a friend to me and it is OKAY that I have used them to feel better. Only when I truly believe that can I let them go. She also pointed out that I seemed to expect myself not to feel judgmental or anxious in the IE process and that when I did, I was viewing THAT as a failure! The point being that we can't expect ourselves to suddenly achieve a loving self-view when we've been taught and have assimilated a critical view. Does that make sense? It can't be a " results " oriented process- doing it RIGHT is not the focus! It is a many-layered process and the journey is the goal. Yours in health, Eden > > Eden, this was SUCH a wakeup call for me! I'd literally been wondering over the past couple weeks why I'm starting to ressurect some of the most annoyingly compulsive habits I've ever had. Your post explains it! I just hadn't thought to put the two things together. I think it's definitely a sign that we're supposed to look for healthy outlets for our stress and our overall feelings. Thank you SO much for sharing--I was really beginning to wonder what was going on with me. >  > I so appreciate all of you. There's nothing like being able to have heartfelt conversations via this forum about our deepest struggles while on similar journeys. Thank you all for sharing this part of your lives with everyone. There is so much wisdom to be gained from all of your experiences and insights! >  > > IE since Sep 2011 > > > ________________________________ > > To: IntuitiveEating_Support > Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2012 10:53 AM > Subject: other habits > > > >  > > Hi all. > I am frustrated with myself because as I " seem " to be implementing some IE concepts, other addictive behaviors are raising their ugly heads. Does this happen to anyone else? > > I quit smoking a year and a half ago and have found myself cheating with a cigarette here and there since I started IE. I am also finding myself shopping more and more online, which is something I cannot afford to do and told myself I would not do. > > I am having trouble being gentle about these infractions becuase I view thwm as terrible failures and they tie in to a larger picture of distracting behaviors. I need to STOP. > > Help! > Eden > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks, everyone, for your responses to this. Of course, these are coping mechanisms which I've adopted and I think the frequency has increased due to my anxiety about weight gain and loss of control. I am in therapy currently and my counselor said a couple of really wonderful things to me. She asked me why I would judge myself harshly for turning to the things I KNOW. True, shopping and smoking and overeating are not the most healthy or positive ways to soothe myself but feeling like a failure only compounds things. Somehow, that thought helped me define " being gentle with myself " - which always seemed hard to grasp. These things have been a friend to me and it is OKAY that I have used them to feel better. Only when I truly believe that can I let them go. She also pointed out that I seemed to expect myself not to feel judgmental or anxious in the IE process and that when I did, I was viewing THAT as a failure! The point being that we can't expect ourselves to suddenly achieve a loving self-view when we've been taught and have assimilated a critical view. Does that make sense? It can't be a " results " oriented process- doing it RIGHT is not the focus! It is a many-layered process and the journey is the goal. Yours in health, Eden > > Eden, this was SUCH a wakeup call for me! I'd literally been wondering over the past couple weeks why I'm starting to ressurect some of the most annoyingly compulsive habits I've ever had. Your post explains it! I just hadn't thought to put the two things together. I think it's definitely a sign that we're supposed to look for healthy outlets for our stress and our overall feelings. Thank you SO much for sharing--I was really beginning to wonder what was going on with me. >  > I so appreciate all of you. There's nothing like being able to have heartfelt conversations via this forum about our deepest struggles while on similar journeys. Thank you all for sharing this part of your lives with everyone. There is so much wisdom to be gained from all of your experiences and insights! >  > > IE since Sep 2011 > > > ________________________________ > > To: IntuitiveEating_Support > Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2012 10:53 AM > Subject: other habits > > > >  > > Hi all. > I am frustrated with myself because as I " seem " to be implementing some IE concepts, other addictive behaviors are raising their ugly heads. Does this happen to anyone else? > > I quit smoking a year and a half ago and have found myself cheating with a cigarette here and there since I started IE. I am also finding myself shopping more and more online, which is something I cannot afford to do and told myself I would not do. > > I am having trouble being gentle about these infractions becuase I view thwm as terrible failures and they tie in to a larger picture of distracting behaviors. I need to STOP. > > Help! > Eden > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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