Hannah was distressed that, with all the inner work she had done on herself, she still found herself binge eating.
"There are times when I just can't stop eating. I feel awful after, but at the time I just want another cookie and another until they are all gone. Or I'll intend to take a few bites of ice cream out of the carton and find myself unable to stop until the whole carton is gone. I just don't get why I'm still doing this! And it seems worse since I married Roger, even though I really love him. I just can't figure this out!"
I asked Hannah to tune into the addicted part of her and allow that part to speak about why she needs to fill up with food.
"Well, sometimes I just feel so empty and alone inside. I just can't stand it. The food makes me feel so much better. I don't feel so lonely when I'm eating and filled up. But I don't get why I feel this way. I'm not alone. I have Roger and he loves me."
"It sounds like you want to eat when you feel alone inside, when your Inner Child - which is your feeling self - feels alone and abandoned inside."
"Yes," answered Hannah. "That's exactly what I feel, but I have no idea how to fill that emptiness and aloneness without food. And why do I feel alone inside when I'm not alone outside?"
The problem is that most people think that the empty alone feeling is caused by something outside themselves - such as not having a partner, feeling rejected by someone, being unhappy at a job or not having enough money. Yet that is never what causes inner emptiness and inner aloneness. It is caused by one thing - not taking loving care of yourself, of your feelings, of the child within. And we cannot take loving care of ourselves without having a spiritual source to turn to for love, wisdom, guidance and strength.
A spiritual source can be God, a Higher Power, a guardian angel, an inner mentor or teacher, a beloved relative who has died, or your own Higher Self. We all need a source of guidance to turn to other than other people or our own mind. Our mind is limited to our storehouse of beliefs, many of which are false or no longer supportive of who are now are. Our mind cannot guide us in what is truly loving to ourselves. It cannot advise us in what actions support our highest good. So unless we have a source of wisdom to turn to, we may not know what to do to take loving care of ourselves.
We will not even open to this Source until our deep desire is to take loving care of ourselves. As long as we believe it is someone else's job to fill us up, or that we will get filled up from work, money, food and so on, we will not take the loving action we need to take in our own behalf to take care of our Inner Child and fill ourselves with love.
The first thing I did with Hannah was to help her create, in her imagination, a spiritual source for her to turn to. When I asked her to do this, she immediately imagined her grandfather whom she had dearly loved as a child and who had died when she was five. She said she had often felt her grandfather around her, but had never thought to turn to him for help. Now, as she imagined him holding her and loving her, she began to cry with the joy of feeling his love for her.
"Hannah, while he is holding you, imagine the child part of you that wants to overeat. Imagine that you are holding her while your grandfather is holding you. Ask her how you are treating her that causes her to feel so empty and alone."
Little Hannah: "The thing you ALWAYS do that I just hate is you just go along with everything that Roger wants. What he wants and needs and feels is always more important to you than I am. You don't speak up for me. Every since we got married, it's like Roger is supposed to make me happy instead of you making me happy. I need you to make me happy by taking care of me instead of taking care of Roger so that Roger will love us. I need you to love me." (This did not come out all at once - this is a summary of what the Inner Child eventually said to adult Hannah).
As Hannah learned to turn to her grandfather for love and guidance and started to take care of herself instead of giving herself up to Roger, her binge eating gradually diminished.
About The Author
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?" She is the co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com or mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com. Phone sessions available.
Resistance training, also known as strength training, does not require... Read More
Much has been written about obesity and globesity. Obesity is... Read More
It's always great to find a protein supplement with very... Read More
When it all comes down to losing or gaining weight,... Read More
Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases today. One... Read More
Your pants are a bit tight, you can't seem to... Read More
When it comes to our weight and the appearance of... Read More
The Atkins low-carb diet consists of four phases: Induction, Ongoing... Read More
No doubt about it, when we feel stressed we want... Read More
Having just returned from a week of basking on a... Read More
Many of us have tried losing weight in the past... Read More
Are you a 'look-and-lose' dieter? Have you studied every diet... Read More
As a woman, your body is very complex. Throughout every... Read More
I remember back in my senior year of high school... Read More
Getting Started on The Clean DietIf you want to lose... Read More
If you are trying to lose weight, the holidays literally... Read More
Diet and Exercise. They are the inseparable twins that are... Read More
At its most basic, dieting is about burning more calories... Read More
Changing our eating behaviour is one of the critical lifestyle... Read More
Every regime has its supply of useless folk lore and... Read More
The Liver The function of your kidneys is to filter... Read More
In order to lose weight, your body must burn more... Read More
Because the Internet allows so many millions of people to... Read More
Make sure that no more than a quarter of your... Read More
First of all we need to find out a reason... Read More
There are many factors that cause us to increase body... Read More
Have you been on a new diet for a couple... Read More
As much as many of us who are over-weight do... Read More
Losing Weight quickly and easily has become one of the... Read More
I don't know anything about you but if you're anything... Read More
The percentage of Americans who are overweight and obese is... Read More
There are many books and internet articles written about weight... Read More
Have you heard about it lately? Everywhere you look, women... Read More
When we hear all the success stories of the gastric... Read More
*Do you truly believe that not eating or cutting back... Read More
AND SAVE MONEY IN THE PROCESS. The secret is simple... Read More
There have been endless numbers of fad diets over the... Read More
WARNING: Don't weight train until after you've lost weight! No,... Read More
When it comes to our weight and the appearance of... Read More
It's the American Dream: "If I could just lose a... Read More
Have you been surfing the web trying to find a... Read More
Patrick Henry once said, "I have but one lamp by... Read More
The act of taking the first step is what separates... Read More
I clearly remember how much I loathed having my picture... Read More
WAHOO!!! for YOU!! You are the most AWESOME person alive!!... Read More
Diet advice ? a million "experts", hundreds of snake-oil miracle... Read More
"Who are you to give me weight loss advice?" I... Read More
Weight loss is never easy. Although this is stating the... Read More
What a great world we live in. You want something,... Read More
I learned about gaining weight when I heard the question... Read More
What's a Low Carb Diet Really Mean?When I hear low... Read More
One of the biggest misconceptions about exercise is that there... Read More
According to a recent survey by the National Health Institute,... Read More
How to Say No When You Don't Want the FoodA... Read More
The 8-Week Campaign to Survive the HolidaysEating preparations in the... Read More
Dieting doesn't have to be a chore. Actually, you can... Read More
I have been seriously working on losing weight for about... Read More
Yes it's true- and so unfair. As we get older... Read More
If you want to find a way to lose weight... Read More
Please feel free to comment, to provide good information and... Read More
The holidays are now officially over and it's time to... Read More
First off, let me start by saying this list is... Read More
Low carb diets can be classified as food plans that... Read More
Weight loss surgery is fast becoming a very popular way... Read More
Yes and no. Moderate calorie restriction helps in controlling and... Read More
Following recent reports of a South Dakota man weighing half... Read More
Weight Loss |