“There is no mystery to the miracle of self healing; it is courage, commitment, and consistency that moves us from misery to inner peace.”

– Yung Pueblo

 

Dear Readers,

 

Please find below a post from Ali Kerr on Food Cravings. In recovery people often experience intense cravings for food. A food craving is an intense desire for a specific food. This desire can seem uncontrollable, and the person’s hunger may not be satisfied until they get that particular food. Ali Kerr very brilliantly deals with this complex matter.  We hope you’ll find the post below useful in your journey to recovery and healing.

 

 

What to do when the cravings strike

Ali Kerr

 

When I was in the very depths of my eating disorder, I was terrified of my binge urges.

They could pounce on me anywhere and at any time.
I could be at home, trying to watch a movie.
I could be working.
I could be in the middle of an important meeting or stuck on a crowded bus. 

The urge used to hit me with all the force of a tidal wave.
My heart would start racing.
I could feel the rush of adrenaline in my brain.
My hands would start shaking and all I could think about was getting to the nearest shop and filling the shopping cart with my favourite binge foods.

How do you fight against something so powerful, so completely overwhelming?
How can you resist the urge that seems to permeate your very being, erasing all of the other considerations that you might have?

What I had learned over the years of managing is very simple and yet extremely important.
The urge itself isn’t that powerful.
It comes and goes.
It waxes and wanes.
If you just stick it out long enough, it DOES pass.

The craving is not the scary part – what makes it so terrifying is our reaction to it.
It can only have the power that we ourselves unwittingly bestow upon it. 

A great way to distance yourself from a binge craving is to dismiss it.
Remember – it is you who gives power and meaning to the craving.
It might not seem that way when you are caught up in the moment, but you ARE in control.

So give the urge no significance or meaning.
Normalize it.
Ignore it.
Dismiss it.
Brush it off.
Detach yourself from the sensation.

Be indifferent to it. Think of it as just another physical occurrence, like a sneeze or a shiver.

Something that happens, then passes, that requires no further attention.
Just think: “Oh well, here’s another binge urge. It’s just a sensation. It’ll pass in time.”

The more dismissive you are towards your binge urges, the less power they have over you.
It’s like the school bully trying to taunt you into a fight. Just let the bully be there, taunting you, but don’t give the bully the time of day. Just ignore it and walk away. Think: “WHATEVER!”.

I’ve spent a long time trying to retrain my brain to accept the cravings and let them go.
However, once I could implement the strategy, I noticed that my binge urges did lose their intensity.

The sense of immediacy was gone.
There were no adrenaline rushes and shaking hands.
I wasn’t scared anymore.
I was able to feel the urge, live with it for a while, let it run its course and then continue going about my day as if nothing had happened. 

Nothing DID happen.
My brain had sent me a disordered impulse, but it didn’t mean that I had to act on it. 
I was able to take back the control, and so are you. 
Banish the fear.
Exercise your power.
Keep working on it and witness yourself getting stronger with each passing day