Had a little breakthrough this morning

hisgirl86

My husband and I have made a plan and stuck to it for three days now, healthy foods and no soft drinks. We've actually been off of sodas since last Friday. But this morning I woke up and I felt so anxious and stressed out, and I could not think of why. I just lay there with all these stressful feelings going through me, and I felt so out of control of everything. I felt like I wanted to run away, but I don't have anything to run away from.

And then it hit me (thanks to reading a lot of you guys posts and blogs) that I usually use food to self medicate. I knew this before, but it had never really been challenged like this. And by taking that choice of anything and everything down to healthy food made me feel like I didn't have control over anything. But by realizing this, I told myself that yes I AM in control, and by making the conscience decision to eat healthy I had proof that I had control.

It was a great breakthrough for me that I could actually rationally think through the situation and talk myself down from it.

Also the fact that we've been off caffeine since Friday has given both my husband and I a huge headache, and this morning my husband looked up the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal and all sorts of craps came up -- trouble focusing, flu-like symptoms, and worst of all increased PMS , which is not what I needed this week! So once this caffeine wd fog lifts we should be doing good!

NotGoddess

I think you hit it right on the head. The food (caffeine in this case) was letting you bypass something you need to deal with. Great job on recognizing the symptoms of withdrawal and not giving in!

I once gave up both caffeine and artificial sweeteners-the caffeine wasn't that bad but the aspartame withdrawal...you'd have thought I was hooked on cocaine or heroin by the detox/withdrawal it caused. Sadly I'm back on both, but not to the same extent.

Bean615

great job! good for you both!! i have given up diet soda for lent (i dont ever drink regular soda) and as of lately i have been getting really bad headaches. these headaches have been a mystery to me until i read ur blog! so thank you! lol i forgot that soda has caffeine in it!

mydeloo78

That's great, its amazing how much we use food to self medicate and deal with our emotions. For me, overeating always allowed me to avoid what was really stressign me out. Then instead of worrying about whatever was going on, I could worry about the fact that I have overeaten. Its a tough habit to break but great job for taking it on! Soda... if you want to be turned off soda do some research on what you can use coke/diet coke for.. you can clean engines with that stuff.. YUCK!

ErinBeth7

It's hard to change "cold turkey!" I am weening myself off coffee. I used to have 2 cups everyday, now reducing it to once or twice a week. It really helped me with bloating.

ItsVJ

It's hard to change "cold turkey!" I am weening myself off coffee. I used to have 2 cups everyday, now reducing it to once or twice a week. It really helped me with bloating.

I'm also trying to break the coffee habit. I find that hot tea (decaf if possible) really helps fill that void.

:-)

melissak40

This was very encouraging to me today. thank you for sharing! I have been off diet coke for about a month and I never realized just how much I would take it like a pill to make me feel better. It was like having a glass of wine for me, "ahhh that's better" and I never knew until I stopped just how much I was relying on it. I appreciate your story and please keep sharing!

Pir8Rav

My husband and I have made a plan and stuck to it for three days now, healthy foods and no soft drinks. We've actually been off of sodas since last Friday. But this morning I woke up and I felt so anxious and stressed out, and I could not think of why. I just lay there with all these stressful feelings going through me, and I felt so out of control of everything. I felt like I wanted to run away, but I don't have anything to run away from.

And then it hit me (thanks to reading a lot of you guys posts and blogs) that I usually use food to self medicate. I knew this before, but it had never really been challenged like this. And by taking that choice of anything and everything down to healthy food made me feel like I didn't have control over anything. But by realizing this, I told myself that yes I AM in control, and by making the conscience decision to eat healthy I had proof that I had control.

It was a great breakthrough for me that I could actually rationally think through the situation and talk myself down from it.

Also the fact that we've been off caffeine since Friday has given both my husband and I a huge headache, and this morning my husband looked up the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal and all sorts of craps came up -- trouble focusing, flu-like symptoms, and worst of all increased PMS , which is not what I needed this week! So once this caffeine wd fog lifts we should be doing good!

Sometime you just need to hear yourself say
"Self - I know what im doing and why its happening - relax"

god bless innerspeak eh?

boodlelibra

I'm pushing though a caffeine wd headache right now - I've had it since yesterday afternoon. Broke down and had a cup of half-caf this morning with my ibuprofen. I've cut out soda and cut back on alcohol too, plus tracking my food religiously. I've been weirdly depressed and emotional and it didn't click that it could be because I've stopped self-medicating until I saw this post. On the upside, working out is becoming cathartic for me and I'm actually starting to look forward to it. Hoping to replace my bad habits with the good ones and learn to actually deal with myself instead of stuffing feelings down and piling pizza on top of them.

dizsolvedgirl

totally of topic but love Minor Threat

i_am_losing_it

Woo Hoo! That is awesome for you! Sorry for you guys not feeling good, it will pass and you have accomplished much!

DataBased

god bless innerspeak eh?

Eh! Or Amen, as the case may be.

Thanks for sharing your story, OP. Fabulous breakthrough, and it can apply to so many things we self-medicate with!

:flowerforyou:

hisgirl86

Thanks for your support guys, and I'm really glad to know that reading this post helped a few of you out We'll make it through, its just the initial "umph" that's hard to get past.