How Are Food And Feelings Related? The Severity Of The Body Is The Price To Pay For The Lightness In The Soul. An Example Of Overweight Work

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

When our body needs food, it signals this to us with feelings of hunger. But, often we eat when there is no real hunger. And we increase our weight, sometimes to incredible sizes. What for?

The severity of the body is the price to pay for the lightness in the soul. For many people under stress, the natural physiological response is to eat. Food gives pleasure, gives a feeling of warmth and acceptance, relaxes, improves mood. Problems fade into the background. Sometimes, this is the only way to support yourself, suppress, "seize" unwanted feelings.

Client case (consent for publication received).

Sophia came to therapy with a request for a change in eating behavior, the girl was overweight. Sophia said that, even at the age of nine, she weighed sixty kilograms. The girl was put on a scale in the middle of the room, and her mother said indignantly: “I got married, weighed less. Stop eating, especially candy!"

But, it was my mother who bought the notorious sweets. Sonya was raised by her grandparents, her mother lived separately. Every time she came to visit, my mother brought candy. Many candies. “Probably, she wanted to sweeten my life without her,” Sonia sneers.

Sonya felt like no one needed, an extra child. She forbade herself to be angry because she saw how anger destroys relationships. She forbade grieving, because if the girl began to cry, this caused indignation among all family members. It was impossible to be afraid either. One could feel guilt and shame for "unworthy" behavior. And also, pretend that everything is good with you and that you are happy with EVERYTHING. So that people can see that Sonya is growing up in a GOOD family.

The girl was overwhelmed with feelings that could not be expressed. She found a way out for herself in food. Moreover, this was encouraged in the family. The child does not choose for himself what products to buy, what to eat. Grandparents bought a lot of food, literally fed the girl.

It happened that grandparents drank and began to quarrel, sorting out the relationship. Mom said: “They will start making noise, go to sleep. You hold them back. Without you, they would have been torn or parted a long time ago. Sonya felt responsible for family relationships. She did as her mother said, tried to sleep, eating her fear with candy. She was angry with her mother, swallowed her resentment along with the food …

In therapy, Sophia had a conversation with her Inner Child. Adult Sophia EXPLAINED to the little girl that the girl is not responsible for the relationship between her grandparents. They are adults, and Sonya is a child. It's really scary when adults are in conflict and you can't do anything. You get angry, sad, disappointed, you experience a whole range of feelings.

When the adult Sophia allowed the little one to EXPRESS all her feelings, the girl began to cry and scream. At the same time, her body began to deflate, decrease in size, all the accumulated fat simply disappeared "before our eyes", as if it had melted.

- Now I can clearly see the connection between food and feelings. Every time I eat to suppress my feelings. And they just need to be EXPRESSED. What a discovery! Intellectually, I knew it for a long time, understood it, but I FEELED it only now, using the example of the Inner Child. I saw how it works.

Sometimes we feel that a lot of feelings have accumulated in the body, especially anger. It seems that if you allow these feelings to manifest, you can harm yourself - crumble, explode. This is scary. But when the energy of repressed feelings is released, relief comes. And the extra pounds go away.

Food control alone cannot change eating behavior. In Sophia's case, she managed to establish contact with her Inner Child. When the girl gave herself a little support, acceptance, allowed to express feelings, the need to seize feelings and receive illusory support from food disappeared. Gradually, Sophia developed new eating habits and ways to cope with stress. The excess weight began to go away.

It is important to remember that it takes time, patience and persistence to change your overeating habit. One of the areas of work with overweight is presented in this article.

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