Friday:
I'm feeling a tiny bit sad today. Probably intensified by the fact I have a bit of a cold, as do my husband and daughter. But what I'm sad about is that the rest of my family will be away a lot of the weekend and I can't go because someone has to stay home with the puppy AND I can't comfort myself with food.
Typically if I'm feeling a bit lonely I turn to food. In fact sometimes I looked forward to it - oh, I'll be alone all evening so I'll have plenty of time to eat all that stuff I don't want to eat in front of my family. Yay.
So what do you do when you no longer use food as a drug? Where do you get comfort, companionship, distraction?
Some people turn to a new addiction, like alcohol. Obviously I don't want to do that.
I've had this problem a few times lately, when feeling stressed or bored or whatever. Not allowed food but I want something... I pace around aimlessly, flitting from task to task and abandoning each, unsettled. It was particularly bad on the scamming day because I couldn't use my computer to distract me either. At least I have that back.
Oh well, I'll survive.
It's important to do some internal searching for what you enjoy doing--things that bring you joy. Refocus your attention on these things and you'll find things different...In many recovery circles, they speak of HALT...It stands for Beware when you're too "hungry, angry, lonely and/or tired." I've discovered joy in listening to podcasts about things of interest to me--and sitting back and enjoying a good documentary or movie--or listening to music...or reading a good book-- Or perhaps getting focused on a project I've been meaning to do--- anything but sitting around thinking about or more accurate, obsessing about food. I know--you could dive into the archives of my blog--go back to day 1 Sept. 2008... Might be interesting. :) I'm such a shameless self-promoter, LOL Natalie, in all seriousness--have confidence in yourself-- What you're doing is amazing and powerful. I believe in you. Believe in you too.
ReplyDeleteSean, I've already read all your archives! lol. I started reading your blog just before you went off line for a while, and read from the start to see your whole journey.
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