hi everyone
Im beginning to understand I have an addiction.
I know i have an addiction because I half to have food, i half to satisfy a craving
I wish it would go away
I tried fighting it
I seem to sink further and further into it
I thank everyone here for there support
Whether you know it or not
Jon
Hi, Jon. I think a lot of people have food addictions and I think what makes them harder to deal with than other kinds of addictions is that you HAVE to eat, you just can't cut food out of your life like you can drugs or alcohol. They say that usually we're trying to fill some void inside ourselves and if we figure out what that is, maybe we can find some other way to do it.
You're doing a good job of understanding yourself better, I think, and I appreciate your sharing it with everyone. You are probably giving hope to some people.
I can relate, as I have def had problems with food too. It is interesting because when I am just mildly anxious, I cannot stop stuffing my face with every processed fast food I can find. Then I hate myself because I gain weight, it is just a vicious cycle. I would definitely say I feel powerless to food at these times.
However, when my anxiety kicks up a notch, I find my appetite totally disappears. It is not just a physical thing, though I sometimes cannot eat because my stomach is in knots. I really just have NO desire to eat anything. This change can just happen at the drop of a hat.
The point I am trying to make is it is easy to feel addicted and out of control. However, it is obvious that the eating is linked to some deeper emotional need. You don't talk about your issues with depression or anxiety but the fact that you are on this site tells me you do have them. I think we are addicted to food via the release we get from it in regards to depression/anxiety. So, food itself is not really the issue. It is just the bandaid we choose, like others may choose alcohol/drugs, self-mutilation, etc. In our case, we need to deal with the anxiety/depression which is the root of the eating.
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Hi Jon
You have spoken about this a little bit before. Is this something you are working on in therapy?
I think most people fight food cravings but if it is something causing you distress...it is definitely something to explore in therapy. Do you have certain triggers for when you begin craving food?
Something I do is have things to curb what I call "mouth hunger" with popcorn, sugarless gum, even nuts I have to crack open (it stalls me from eating too much). Sometimes too if you wait 5-10 minutes...the craving will stop. But I don't know all that you are dealing with in what you are describing so I don't want to simplify things.
Keep writing to tell us about how things are going. It is good to hear from you.