In this section of FaceBook University, we're working with my program, "Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It." There is an additional workshop going on & that one is about "Interactive Self-Hypnosis." The workshops are free & open to all Fans of my Pages. Those links are on my FB Wall.
Releasing Old Stories & Drama
Coming out from behind the rock is easier for some than for others. A lot depends on your past & present level of drama, as well as your family emotional & medical history. If your early years contained lots of punishment, including criticism & humiliation, you tend to attach those to your daily life moments & to your addiction or eating issues. If your family practiced poor eating habits & there is a history of adult onset diabetes, circulatory & heart disease, along with other chronic conditions and/or addictions, including alcohol, drugs, nicotine or others, you may or may not have difficulty coming out of hiding because of the physiological & psychological reasons. You may have failed many times, not being able to manage your hunger levels, thinking something was wrong with you, but not knowing what. The mystery may keep you from trying something different.
Sometimes, people with eating issues feel shame, not only about themSelves, but about the habits of their families. I've met so many patients throughout the years who became "addicted" to not being like their family because they were so ashamed of the secrets that went on behind the walls. There is also the fear of not being loved or accepted if one were to change, especially in co-dependent relationships.
Food addiction, especially sugar & high glycemic carbohydrates have woven physiological & psychological components. This was the problem that I had & even though having the ability to be very disciplined in other areas, I was not able to break through this food-related addiction. I remember being so crazed by this that I felt like I should be institutionalized. Obviously, this was a very low moment for me, but the truth of the matter was that I simply could not understand why I couldn't stop some of the things I was doing. It was like some other being took over my body & I was just the observer.
The things we bring out from behind our rocks will all be different, but they will all be "old dramas & stories." Here's the moment of truth...we only two choices with what we bring out....we either choose to keep them & keep talking about them OR we choose to change. I'm sure that you know plenty of people who have chosen to keep their "old dramas & stories, perhaps even adding more fictionalized episodes to them." They talk about their weight, dieting, foods that haunt them, why they can't change, when they might be able to change if they could change, which, of course, as the drama/story goes, they cannot. Some of the stories go back decades & all set out to prove that they are imprisoned by these, keeping them victims. No one can save them. People have so many versions of old food stories that they could publish volumes.
One day, I think I was standing by the water cooler at work, I became aware of a tremendous tension in my body. In that moment, I decided that I had enough of listening to others & responding with my own competitive versions of "I'm a bigger victim than you are." That moment was almost like being stung by a bee. It came as a powerful THOUGHT, almost like a "mind-blast." You know the kind. I simply knew that I didn't want to hear another word about food issues & that I had to dig mySelf out of my own hole. There was only one shovel & I owned it.
Here are some truths. In addiction, or anything else for that matter, what you think is what you attract, so if I was continually "feeding" my mind with my food stories & those of others, I was making my issues worse. On that day I told my colleagues that I wouldn't be sharing in any of these conversations any longer & that while it didn't have anything to do with my respect for them & I certainly wasn't judging them, it just wasn't what I needed to be doing. Even though I said this in a kind way....goodness me! What a reaction this caused!! It was quite obvious that this "food thing" was a highly emotional topic & very personal. In that moment I felt alone & realized that I wouldn't be spending any more time at the water cooler.
I had another experience on an email discussion group. I sent a post suggesting that instead of repeating what we believed we couldn't do, that we should work on "writing new stories" & placing ourSelves inside of these, inviting our subconscious mind, Higher Self or Power or whatever one believes in, to help out & to turn in the direction of health. It didn't take long for an email to arrive in my mailbox dropping me from the group. What this told me was that people preferred staying behind the rock where it was safe, but of course, that is just an illusion & a dangerous one at that.
My own family wasn't especially intrigued with my ideas either. But at least they didn't drop me! From that day on the "old stories" were off the radar. As I began to walk a new road, I sensed a lot of fear in my family. I never suggested that they should change, but seeing me change was very threatening & I had to wear my "courage coat."
Now, as a Clinician & Educator, I do believe that we must face these old dramas & stories. Going further, we must take them apart & that is for several reasons. If we don't face them, then it is difficult, if not impossible to heal them. What's very interesting is that as we face them, open them & communicate with them, these very parts of the "old stories" will take us into the areas of healing that are often hidden from consciousness. This is why we utilize "interactive self-hypnosis." As you stick with me, we'll get into this type of specialized imagery.
But, for now...I'd like you to take some of your "old story books" that you brought from behind the rock & write down their titles. After you do that, find a place for them in the "library of your mind"....on a back shelf, where they can be made available for some work we can do later.
Here are some of mine. You could also call these your "beliefs."
"I'm Sugar Addicted"
"I'm a Carbohydrate Addict"
"I Don't Like Healthy Food"
"I'm Always Hungry So I Have to Eat"
"My Refrigerator Speaks My Name"
"I'm Lazy When It Comes to Cooking"
"Junk Food is My Best Friend"
"The Happy Binger"
"I Love My Secrets"
"I Love Cookies & There Are Never Enough"
"I'll Never Be At a Healthy Weight Until I Die"
"I Have No Will Power & I'm Stuck"
"I'm a Loser & That Has Nothing to do With Weight"
"I'm Not Good Enough"
"I Can Never Stop This & I Don't Want To"
ohh...there are so many more, but this is it for a start.
Copyright 2010 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be reproduced without permission of the author.
