Food As Stress Reliever

CrazyMermaid1

About a decade ago, I retired from a very stressful job. I lost about 60 lbs over the course of that decade and kept it off. Yesterday I experienced two very stressful situations that are not resolved. This morning I started in on the peanut butter then moved to m&ms. At that point I started consciously checking in with myself to see what was going on. It dawned on me at that point that my ability to keep the weight off wasn’t due to my superior skill. It’s been my ability to avoid stress. Time for some therapy.

LifeChangz

spot on!

when the pandemic hit, someone shared a pdf compiled to help people with various things. i was surprised when i read a statement that "stress can re-trigger urges to use substances including food, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes.

that might have been the first time i was able to put into words something I had noticed when I was quitting smoking - every 'new event/stress since I had quit' that came up triggered a huge urge to smoke. Had been quit a year and we were packed up, in the truck, ready to head out to go camping and I was walloped with urges to smoke! through the whole weekend it was that way - had to push through and live through the event(s) without smoking.... then the next time, the urges were less or non-existent. I noticed after 5 years quit, i rarely have urges to smoke except for super stress events like one of the majors - job loss, death, change homes... whatnot.

the upshot to the idea was that it made sense - and it was comforting because it is a normal reaction - and simply means, we have more to (re)learn about living life without relying on the substance - and that it can & will get better again with more practice

Hope the stress resolves and you find a way through @CrazyMermaid1 (hugs)

cmriverside

Step away from the peanut butter.

I find that breathing exercises help a lot. Meditation. Prayer.

If I can not take that first triggered bite, it's okay. Quitting midway through a binge is harder nearly impossible to do.

I get triggered by all kinds of emotional states. For me it started when I was very young and left alone for long period of time when my parents were gone. I learned self-soothing through eating. Tough nut to crack as an adult - it gets pretty entrenched.

kshama2001

LifeChangz wrote: »

spot on!

when the pandemic hit, someone shared a pdf compiled to help people with various things. i was surprised when i read a statement that "stress can re-trigger urges to use substances including food, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes.

that might have been the first time i was able to put into words something I had noticed when I was quitting smoking - every 'new event/stress since I had quit' that came up triggered a huge urge to smoke. Had been quit a year and we were packed up, in the truck, ready to head out to go camping and I was walloped with urges to smoke! through the whole weekend it was that way - had to push through and live through the event(s) without smoking.... then the next time, the urges were less or non-existent. I noticed after 5 years quit, i rarely have urges to smoke except for super stress events like one of the majors - job loss, death, change homes... whatnot.

the upshot to the idea was that it made sense - and it was comforting because it is a normal reaction - and simply means, we have more to (re)learn about living life without relying on the substance - and that it can & will get better again with more practice

Hope the stress resolves and you find a way through @CrazyMermaid1 (hugs)

Yes, due to the pandemic, I got back into therapy April 2020. I'm in an extremely toxic family situation right now and am moving out next month. It's been going on for a year. I've been amazed that I haven't started self-medicating with alcohol again, something I stopped doing in the 90s. I can drink moderately, which for me is a drink once a quarter, but am worried that I will start drinking more after I move, as a way to cope with the Post part of this Stress.

Fortunately, I'm a veteran and we have all sorts of resources. I'm currently in a CBT skills group, and am in some other veterans groups as well, along with therapy.

LifeChangz

that's good to hear you have resources available @CrazyMermaid1
~ support helps. for me, even support like this.
~ and i find CBT very helpful. Although the Beck Diet Solution has a warning that the book may not be appropriate for binge/eating disorders, i found some kernels of helpful ideas/cbt skills that I could use from the book (and set aside others for later, discarded what i couldn't use - essentially my approach with resources.)

1 idea i stumbled across was a show on 'change your brain' on PBS (public broadcast station?) with a Dr Amien? (Amen?) who mentioned that a simple activity was found to be very helpful - each day, pause and think about what you are truly grateful for - deeply grateful. for me, sometimes it gets very basic - i am alive. sun is shining. i can still breathe, walk, talk. I can still do things for myself without needing physical help (again.) I have a place to sleep, too much food to eat, clothes/clean clothes to wear. Bombs are not dropping around me, etc. I have found it shifts my thinking from dwelling in the ick to dwelling in the things that are good/helpful.

with the ick - find it helps to recognize and acknowledge the thoughts.... assess can I do anything now/in the future to take care of this? make the plan/strategy... go do if it is now... or set aside until later when I will do/think about it more later. Then consciously shift thoughts to positive/activity that engages the brain, lifts the spirits like laff tv, playing with furbaby, talking with friend, mfp'ing or whatnot.

sounds like a lot of change ahead for you - ride the waves and hopefully you will land in a better, safer, kinder place for your heart.... sooner than later... (hugs)

goldengirl111

CrazyMermaid1 wrote: »

About a decade ago, I retired from a very stressful job. I lost about 60 lbs over the course of that decade and kept it off. Yesterday I experienced two very stressful situations that are not resolved. This morning I started in on the peanut butter then moved to m&ms. At that point I started consciously checking in with myself to see what was going on. It dawned on me at that point that my ability to keep the weight off wasn’t due to my superior skill. It’s been my ability to avoid stress. Time for some therapy.

www.oa.org

DFW_Tom

cmriverside wrote: »

If I can not take that first triggered bite, it's okay. Quitting midway through a binge is harder nearly impossible to do.

This!

Try putting off that first nibble for 5 minutes. Then try for another 5. Let the stress be replaced with some other activity.