Re: So confused about my binge last night...

[Guest guest]

Hi, Josie,

Your point about it not having to have some "huge significant meaning" reminded me of Oprah's statement on the second Geneen Roth show, when she said that she reaches for food often over the smallest things--not major traumas, just minor discomforts.

I think for me the difference is that I somewhere in my psyche believe that food will somehow make things better. It's not that anything is hugely wrong...just that I somehow learned at an early age to turn to food to handle even small discomforts.

Laurie

Josie wrote:

>>>I don't intend to discount anyone else's experience. We certainly don't know everything about the body, so it's entirely possible that substances have addictive qualities for certain people. Each person has to decide for themselves; that's part of listening to your body. But it has been really helpful for me to hear these other points of view, too. Not only has it helped me identify areas of my thought process that I need to continue to work on (i.e., not being *completely* convinced that all foods are legal), but it's also helpful for me to realize that not everything has some huge signficiant meaning behind it. In the same way that I really needed to understand that being an emotional eater doesn't have to mean that I'm eating to avoid some huge trauma in my life, it's helpful to know that sometimes things happen because they're habits, because habits can be changed with practice. That's why I also like the term mindful eating. Sometimes, I think I'm just eating mind lessly and that with more practice, I'll be more aware of what I'm doing so I can change it. No need to give something more significance than it deserves.

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