I didn't really intend for this blog to become an OprahFest, but I keep stumbling upon things either in O magazine or on the Oprah show that connect to reasons why we overeat.
Today's show is a rerun. It's about gastric bypass patients who successfully have the surgery and lose the weight but then become addicted to something else such as alcohol. Apparently, when your stomach is so small, you can get drunk also immediately upon drinking. This problem swap is called Addiction Transfer.
This connects to the idea that we hear expressed over and over: that you're not going to solve the problem unless you get to the cause.
Robin, the Oprah psychologist said this: when you have been wounded through some sort of abuse, two things can happen. Either you allow yourself to feel the pain, and gradually heal, or, you cover/hide the pain and turn to things to numb the pain. And consequently, you become your own abuser. They were talking about drug and alcohol addiction but I think it's the same with overeating.
Food numbs uncomfortable feelings. And it's such an easy habit to acquire since we have to eat every day.
You can't overeat (abuse yourself with too much food) unless you keep yourself from feeling the discomfort of eating too much or eating something your body doesn't really want and need. And you won't want to numb yourself with food unless you're determined to blot out the things that originally caused the pain or self-loathing. Over time, the cause might become a dim memory, but the habit of overeating soldiers on.
I wonder sometimes if there is such a thing as overeating for no reason? Any over eater I've ever asked acknowledges some painful events (either separate or connected) that triggered the start of it. Or just a basic self-loathing or very harsh inner critic that can shut up momentarily with a couple of cookies forcing it down.
Why some choose overeating over other self-punishments is any body's guess. In the great scheme of things, everyone is battling the same demons.
Right at the end of the show, Robin said, You might think you know who you really are when you're fat, but you don't. Because when you're fat/overweight, you're essentially high, the same way you are when you drink too much or take drugs. You only begin to really know yourself when you come down off the drug, which in this case is too much food. But, when you shrink your body, the pain increases....
Addictions are symbols in our life to tell us, You are in trouble: pay attention.
It's all so freaking tricky.
I didn't really intend for this blog to become an OprahFest, but I keep stumbling upon things either in O magazine or on the Oprah show that connect to reasons why we overeat.
Today's show is a rerun. It's about gastric bypass patients who successfully have the surgery and lose the weight but then become addicted to something else such as alcohol. Apparently, when your stomach is so small, you can get drunk also immediately upon drinking. This problem swap is called Addiction Transfer.
This connects to the idea that we hear expressed over and over: that you're not going to solve the problem unless you get to the cause.
Robin, the Oprah psychologist said this: when you have been wounded through some sort of abuse, two things can happen. Either you allow yourself to feel the pain, and gradually heal, or, you cover/hide the pain and turn to things to numb the pain. And consequently, you become your own abuser. They were talking about drug and alcohol addiction but I think it's the same with overeating.
Food numbs uncomfortable feelings. And it's such an easy habit to acquire since we have to eat every day.
You can't overeat (abuse yourself with too much food) unless you keep yourself from feeling the discomfort of eating too much or eating something your body doesn't really want and need. And you won't want to numb yourself with food unless you're determined to blot out the things that originally caused the pain or self-loathing. Over time, the cause might become a dim memory, but the habit of overeating soldiers on.
I wonder sometimes if there is such a thing as overeating for no reason? Any over eater I've ever asked acknowledges some painful events (either separate or connected) that triggered the start of it. Or just a basic self-loathing or very harsh inner critic that can shut up momentarily with a couple of cookies forcing it down.
Why some choose overeating over other self-punishments is any body's guess. In the great scheme of things, everyone is battling the same demons.
Right at the end of the show, Robin said, You might think you know who you really are when you're fat, but you don't. Because when you're fat/overweight, you're essentially high, the same way you are when you drink too much or take drugs. You only begin to really know yourself when you come down off the drug, which in this case is too much food. But, when you shrink your body, the pain increases....
Addictions are symbols in our life to tell us, You are in trouble: pay attention.
It's all so freaking tricky.