I understand the pain...
StrongHeart
Posts: 293 Member
It sucks when life seems to be hitting us below the belt from all directions. I know; I have been there.
Aren't the trials of life bad enough without us beating ourselves up more?
Why do we make matters worse by committing suicide with food?
Because that IS what we are doing - killing ourselves one mouth full at a time.
Someone says something unkind of hurtful to me and I grab my favorite foods and gorge myself out on them.:sad:
I lose my job, or my car ,or BOTH and I do the same. :frown:
My boss or a co-worker makes me angry :explode: and I turn to food.
My partner states I'm no longer attractive to him and the first thing I do is grab food.:brokenheart:
Your issues may be similar to my hurts and losses or different, but the one thing in common is that we tend to turn to food for love and comfort. Why do we do that? Why do we to add insult to injury by binging?
May I share something with you? In the past, some members of my family dealt with the stresses of life by turning to liquor or drugs. I used to tell myself I was better than them because I didn't deal with stress by getting drunk or taking drugs. I saw what those indulgences did to their body and their life and I was PROUD that I did not cope with life's issues that way.
Well not long ago my eyes were opened and I saw that I was JUST LIKE THEM - only my drug of choice was food! :noway:
My over indulgence in food was doing the same thing to my body and my life as their drunkenness and drug abuse had done to their lives - it was killing me and destroying all I held dear! :brokenheart: I was well on the way to destroying myself and any good things I had left in my life. Overeating was making me ill; :sick: it was making me hurt physically, and my abuse of food made me JUST LIKE THEM.
My friend, I have learned that I cannot control what happens AROUND me. I cannot really even control what happens TO me.
I have learned that one of the few things I have ANY control over is what I eat and drink. That revelation gives me a sense of having SOME power over something that affects my life and I hold to that life line with all my strength.
I have learned that issues of life are NOT worth sacrificing my physical or mental health.
The issues in life are NOT good reasons for me to punish myself even more by packing on pounds or clogging my arteries.
I have learned that gorging out on my favorite foods does not console me, it does not fix anything, and it only makes things WORSE.
It took me reaching over 425 pounds and aching all over (especially in my knees, ankles and feet) to figure this out.
Binging on food only made me unhealthy and added physical pain and emotional pain on top of the other stressors in my life.
If you are guilty of turning to food as your drug of choice like I was - if you are facing negative situations and stressful issues in your life like me please believe me when I say YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
If I could travel through this computer and give you a hug I would. If I could make things better, or at least easier in the different areas of your life and mine I would gladly do it; but sadly I cannot "fix" things and I cannot control things no matter how much I wish I could.
Dear friend, YOU ARE a good person; you ARE worth tender loving care. Take care of YOU and love yourself.
Give that gift to yourself every day by the way you treat your body.
Now, take a deep breath and try to let the stress you are feeling go out of your body with that expelled breath.
((Hugs & Prayers Always)) - From someone who understands.
Aren't the trials of life bad enough without us beating ourselves up more?
Why do we make matters worse by committing suicide with food?
Because that IS what we are doing - killing ourselves one mouth full at a time.
Someone says something unkind of hurtful to me and I grab my favorite foods and gorge myself out on them.:sad:
I lose my job, or my car ,or BOTH and I do the same. :frown:
My boss or a co-worker makes me angry :explode: and I turn to food.
My partner states I'm no longer attractive to him and the first thing I do is grab food.:brokenheart:
Your issues may be similar to my hurts and losses or different, but the one thing in common is that we tend to turn to food for love and comfort. Why do we do that? Why do we to add insult to injury by binging?
May I share something with you? In the past, some members of my family dealt with the stresses of life by turning to liquor or drugs. I used to tell myself I was better than them because I didn't deal with stress by getting drunk or taking drugs. I saw what those indulgences did to their body and their life and I was PROUD that I did not cope with life's issues that way.
Well not long ago my eyes were opened and I saw that I was JUST LIKE THEM - only my drug of choice was food! :noway:
My over indulgence in food was doing the same thing to my body and my life as their drunkenness and drug abuse had done to their lives - it was killing me and destroying all I held dear! :brokenheart: I was well on the way to destroying myself and any good things I had left in my life. Overeating was making me ill; :sick: it was making me hurt physically, and my abuse of food made me JUST LIKE THEM.
My friend, I have learned that I cannot control what happens AROUND me. I cannot really even control what happens TO me.
I have learned that one of the few things I have ANY control over is what I eat and drink. That revelation gives me a sense of having SOME power over something that affects my life and I hold to that life line with all my strength.
I have learned that issues of life are NOT worth sacrificing my physical or mental health.
The issues in life are NOT good reasons for me to punish myself even more by packing on pounds or clogging my arteries.
I have learned that gorging out on my favorite foods does not console me, it does not fix anything, and it only makes things WORSE.
It took me reaching over 425 pounds and aching all over (especially in my knees, ankles and feet) to figure this out.
Binging on food only made me unhealthy and added physical pain and emotional pain on top of the other stressors in my life.
If you are guilty of turning to food as your drug of choice like I was - if you are facing negative situations and stressful issues in your life like me please believe me when I say YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
If I could travel through this computer and give you a hug I would. If I could make things better, or at least easier in the different areas of your life and mine I would gladly do it; but sadly I cannot "fix" things and I cannot control things no matter how much I wish I could.
Dear friend, YOU ARE a good person; you ARE worth tender loving care. Take care of YOU and love yourself.
Give that gift to yourself every day by the way you treat your body.
Now, take a deep breath and try to let the stress you are feeling go out of your body with that expelled breath.
((Hugs & Prayers Always)) - From someone who understands.
0
Replies
-
Very well spoken. and its like looking in the mirror. Good luck and best wishes0
-
Wow.
Thank you0 -
Bless you!:flowerforyou:0
-
you are so right. i have that addictive personality as well. for the moment and hopefully forever i have turned that addictive personality into trying to do what is best for me and eat better and exercise more. hopefully it sticks.0
-
:flowerforyou: that was lovely
I have dealt with a dangerous drug and alcohol addiction and am 8 years sober, I thought I had this food thing under control at one point but then I realized I was micromanaging my food to an extreme and causing a ton of anxiety for myself. I remember clearly the days where I could NOT function because I couldn't figure the calories of foods, I would break down when my family went out to eat, have panick attacks in the car. Since you can't eliminate food, it is a harder addiction to control by far. I'm trying to find a happy medium that I can live with now, I stopped resenting the whole "its not a diet, its a lifestyle" chatter. I used to hear that and think "yeah, a lifestyle that makes you crazy" but it wasn't a general you....it was only me that was being made crazy.
Two years ago I had an emergency surgery for a spinal cord injury and I remember my mom brought me a pack of these disgusting hard sandwich cookies. My surgeon came in and threw them away, saying "What are you doing?!! Do you want to die here or do you want to learn to live??" I rolled my eyes at him. When he left a nurse brought me icecream.
It took 2 full years for me to stop gaining weight and stop eating my pain away. Now I'm trying to reverse the damage that's been done - slow and sure.
Food is so easy, its so neutral. I don't feel happy when I eat, I don't feel enthused or content. Its a neutral - I don't feel anything. That also means I don't feel my physical or emotional pain. I don't feel bad for myself or bad about myself. Food gives a temporary relief.0 -
Thank you! I needed that today!0
-
Wow! That was deep. I am loving u right now. U r truly a blessing to me.0
-
Wow, that was beautiful. You have the gift of the pen for sure. Thank you for sharing that. :flowerforyou:0
-
Wonderful writing from a beautifully spirited person! I wish you much success on your journey because you've got your head on straight and you've got the right idea. You have no choice now but to succeed at reaching your goals. You have been a true blessing with your post.0
-
:flowerforyou: Waaw! My dear you are so deep and you made my day! I want to thank you for sharing it with us0
-
U r soooo encouraging!! I agree that overeating is definitely a problem that should be taken seriously, that's why we are all here together. It's like AA for us. I had a friend who was diabetic and she needed to loose a lot of weight, she was so frustrated. She said she felt like she was digging her own grave with her teeth, it reminded me of what you said. Thanks for the encouragement and honesty but most of all your heart. I would like to send my love to you!!! I'm glad to have u in my life too!!:blushing:0
-
It is so easy to feel like you are the only one feeling that way. Thank you for this post! It reminded me I am not doing this alone!0
-
*Gulp* that hit home. Here I have been thinking just that, that I am better than drug and alcohol addicts. You have really made me stop and think today. Thank you!0
-
:flowerforyou: tyvm so deep and so true for most of us here on this journey x0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions