Food for Thought: November 6th

Pain

Living without the narcotic of excess food means learning to cope with emotional pain. Uncomfortable feelings, which we have covered up by eating, begin to surface as we abstain. At first, our emotional reactions are often vague and diffuse, since we have not yet acquired enough insight to identify what it is that is bothering us.

If we are willing to stay with the emotional discomfort and pain, we will eventually gain understanding. Sometimes we have to spend time hurting before we are able to pass through one phase in our development and move on to the next. Whatever the suffering, it is preferable to the agony of a binge. Facing emotional pain is constructive; trying to bury it under food is destructive.

Our pain is often associated with events in the past, which are still troubling us unconsciously. When we are able to identify the source of the pain, we can examine it in the light of our present maturity and begin to put it behind us. As long as we avoid feeling the pain, we deny ourselves the healing which our Higher Power can give us.

May I accept the pain that is necessary for continued growth.

From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation.

__________________
My Health Coach Website
My Blog

 

**********************************************************

 

When I first found abstinence, I was raw & fragile.....I cried all the time as I withdrew from the anesthetic effects of food and began to feel my pain instead of burying it.  Since I wasn't able to identify WHAT I was feeling, I had no idea what, specifically, was bothering me.  At the age of 50, I was just starting to learn about myself, after many decades of escaping pain at any cost.

 

Since I was 100% committed to abstinence, I had NO other choice but to push through my emotional discomfort and stay the course.  Doing so forced me to find new & healthy coping mechanisms instead of turning to food for comfort.  As time went on, I was able to identify the source of my emotional pain, and to address each issue as it came up.  I had a lot of old wounds that needed healing..........wounds that I hadn't addressed before Recovery.  I knew I had to get out of the Past & the Future, and learn to focus on the NOW; the Present.

 

I did a lot of writing which was very cathartic.  I put into words the pain & suffering I had endured at the hands of my disease.  I became conscious of the pain that had festered within me, and little by little, I rid myself of my past mistakes & forgave others for THEIR past mistakes.

 

The only way OUT is THROUGH, one day at a time.  When I find myself wanting to binge nowadays, I have to ask myself what I REALLY want and need? It's certainly not excess food, but perhaps a hug, or a long talk, or some understanding from a loved one.  

 

For today, I will remain abstinent & sane.  For today, I pray to accept the pain that may come up within me, realizing the necessity of dealing with it, so I can continue to grow as a human being.  For today, I put my life in God's hands.