Wednesday, March 24, 2010

I found this article about overeating and addictive behavior written by Clayton College(http://www.ccnh.edu/).


Overeating and Addictive Behavior

“Just one more.” When balance in life is lacking, a person will often fill the void with behavior that attempts to remedy the imbalance. The behavior becomes addictive when it provides some short-term illusion of filling that void but, like a pocket with a hole in it, it is never filled. The hope lies in fixing the hole. The first step is identification of the issue as an issue.

Addictive behavior manifests in many ways, from codependent relationships, to drug or alcohol abuse, but a very common one is overeating. A person is more likely to overeat when feeling stressed, overtired, or is in transition. If one can avoid these conditions, she can reduce the likelihood of overeating. In an attempt to energize yourself, you can accomplish the quite the opposite. When food is used as comfort, the result is usually discomfort. If you want to energize yourself, exercise is more effective than eating-for-comfort.

Try answering these questions to determine if you are eating in an addictive manner: Do you fail to notice what your food tastes like? Do you still hunger for the experience of eating after you have eaten your meal? Do you eat while distracted? Answering yes to any of these can indicate that you are eating “robotically” and possibly need to address overeating.

When you are overeating you are ignoring your real needs, keeping yourself emotionally numb, and using food to distract ourselves from dealing with the underlying need.

To thrive and feel good about yourself you must feel a flow of loving energy in your life. This means setting appropriate boundaries yourself and taking responsibility for yourself and your feelings. This also means increasing the honesty and clarity of communication with yourself and with others. Some of us strive to keep others around us happy, and as a protective measure, tell ourselves things like “I never get angry.” This dishonest communication can lead to a building up of unresolved issues.

Therapy may be helpful if you have unresolved issues that are diminishing your ability to enjoy your life.

This article was written on behalf of Clayton College. For more information on Addictive behavior or to learn about what degree programs Clayton College, Clayton College of Natural Health, Clayton Natural Health offers, please visit http://www.ccnh.edu/ or call 1-800-323-8232.