Re: The Voice

[Guest guest]

When I read that particular section inthew book it made me realize just how insidious that VOICE is. I mean yes I recognized it in other areas of my life as I am what I call myself...a recovering perfectionist....but I never realized just how much I put myself down as well in terms of eating and such as well. Though of course in hindsight ...duh of course I am not surprised. I loved it when Geneen wrote that she told the voice to shut the heck up (though I think her language was stronger). I have tried that as well or to not even let myself think any of those thoughts. I just see myself in a mirror and move on before commentary can kick in.

I have always struggled with the idea of affirmation and positive thinking but the fact is we are responsible for our actions and hence responsible for our negative thoughts. Awareness is a huge step but counteracting it is harder. Saying you love yourself in a mirror is not enough . For me anyway I have had to look at a lot of areas in mylife and try and understand WHERE and WHY the negativity is there and then work on self acceptance and that’s where I trip up. I can intellectually understand why I am doing something but catching myself “in the moment” and being emotionally strong enough to step away from the edge of the abyss is much harder.

I laughed at your question about feeling. I havent felt and now I am trying too....but its scary!!! Trusting myself....wow I never knew I didn’t until I started doing all this and I can be such a control freak too.

n

I am about half way through Women, Food, and God. The chapter on listening to that Voice - the one telling you - and you think it's you - how fat your butt is, how you are weak and a loser makes me wonder. Do all of us with food issues hear that Voice??

I have read other positive thinking books but this seems to go beyond just thinking positively. Joyce Meyer talks about changing " stinking thinking " and this too is good. But Geneen connects the toxic thoughts to body image and self worth. It's not you talking to yourself, you just don't know that. You think its normal to belittle yourself before someone else does.

And you think you're hungry when all along, it's your heart that hungers for something, for company, for a laugh. But of course you don't want to feel that longing, sadness, so you eat.

Is it better to feel, or not to feel?? I guess that's the real question. (apologies to Shakespeare)

[Guest guest]

n,

Are you a restricter or permitter??

For me I've always been a restricter which is why I was always trying the

latests fad diet.

I can tell you every carb, fat gram, calorie count of most food items including

fast food.

Funny, just recently was talking with my sister who was amazed and curious that

I knew all that stuff. She asked me why I knew this and I was amazed at the

question. Had she not grown up in the same house as me? But her experience was

vastly different since she was always petite and praised for being tiny.

My mother once told me that she never dieted. I thought she was growing more

forgetful in her senior years. I politely told her that I remember ALOT of

dieting going on when I was growing up. I mean, she put me on my first diet in

the 6th grade! It was WW.

So restricting became a way of life for me from an early age. It seems like the

more distance I put on the past, the more normal my eating becomes.

>

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > I am about half way through Women, Food, and God. The chapter on listening

to

> > that Voice - the one telling you - and you think it's you - how fat your

butt

> > is, how you are weak and a loser makes me wonder. Do all of us with food

> > issues hear that Voice??

> >

> > I have read other positive thinking books but this seems to go beyond just

> > thinking positively. Joyce Meyer talks about changing " stinking thinking "

and

> > this too is good. But Geneen connects the toxic thoughts to body image and

> > self worth. It's not you talking to yourself, you just don't know that. You

> > think its normal to belittle yourself before someone else does.

> >

> > And you think you're hungry when all along, it's your heart that hungers for

> > something, for company, for a laugh. But of course you don't want to feel

that

> > longing, sadness, so you eat.

> >

> > Is it better to feel, or not to feel?? I guess that's the real question.

> > (apologies to Shakespeare)

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

>