Are you tired of thinking about food let alone talking about food and it’s focus in your life? I can imagine that you feel fed up, both physically and mentally. This may be because your story is masked by the over emphasis on food in your life. This statement is not meant to minimize the impact food has on your every thought and action in the world as you may know it today. This realization is made to assist you in relieving yourself of the burden of food. Your story most likely has more to do with deeper, more meaningful parts of your self that have been tucked away behind the curtain of food, dieting, calories, numbers, weight, and so on.As I write this I think of the documentary, No Numbers: Identity Beyond Measure, which I sponsored and presented with the filmmaker, Dena Ashbaugh last month. The film explored the lives of three very different women who had suffered from severe eating disorders. One point that one of the physicians made that hit home for me is that one of the recruiting aspects of eating disorders is the use of numbers and that even in treatment the focus continues to be on numbers, such as weight gain or weight loss. The physician pointed out that this focus on the scale encourages eating disordered thinking and an unhealthy focus on food that can perpetuate a viscous cycle. I also appreciated that this eating disorder expert emphasizes that eating disorder patients in treatment not only focus on “recovery” but more importantly, “discovery,” which is at the very core of these blogs that I am writing. I strongly feel that getting in touch with your story and reclaiming your history as a person and not just an eating disorder is of great importance.
Learning to feed yourself in non-addictive way will bring you into your body so that you feel satisfied, and this is all part of your personal story. How this happens for each person is a unique discovery and may take not only time, but several creative approaches as you experience and get to know your truest self. So as you think back in time and formulate your story as it unfolds, you will unfold more of your story each day.
I end with lyrics from “Words” by Lucinda Williams:
“Deep down within me words live in phases
Frozen and still till they decide
To melt and drag over the pages
And to that moment they live inside.”
Warmly, Angela
Disclaimer: Please do not substitute material on this site for actual consultation with a mental health professional. The information in this blog is not meant as a specific treatment recommendation or personal communication with any individual.
Courtesy of Angela Wurtzel.
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I am late in reading my favorite online blog; thanks, Angela. I do spend a great deal of time angsting about food because I have so many food allergies and try to eat healthy, yet stay on the safe side. I work around the clock and don’t have time to cook, but I can’t and won’t eat any fast food, except for an occasional slice of pizza ( which I do adore).