Our relationship with food is deeply personal. There are so many emotions attached and the patterns start so early, they are often so ingrained, they can be difficult to change. Here are some signs it is time to take a deeper look into your relationship with food and make some changes:
You think about food constantly. It is just after breakfast and you are already thinking about what to have for lunch, dinner or a snack. I’m not talking meal prepping and planning here. I’m talking about the deep obsession that tends to come with a dysfunctional relationship with food. When thoughts of food seem to overshadow other areas of your life and make it difficult to think of anything else, it is time to make some changes.
Food is your main coping skill. Do you reach for food before trying to address your emotions in other ways? Whether you eat for comfort, stress relief, celebration, reward, numbness or distraction, it can be problematic when you lose focus of other coping mechanisms. Coping skills are a lot like muscles. If we don’t use them, we lose them. We can also overdevelop our attachment to the payoffs we get from using food for emotional reasons. Then, it becomes harder to call upon our other skills when we need them.
Your relationship with food is damaging your self-esteem. Using food for emotional reasons often has a tendency to be coupled with shame. We tend to beat ourselves up when we overeat or eat foods that we tell ourselves are off limits. This shame damages our perception of our self-worth over time and drives us further into the shame spiral. When this is a daily occurrence, it gets harder and harder to get out.
If you need help changing your relationship with food, contact me today! Using powerful therapies, I create a laser like plan to get to the bottom of these patterns to help you make long-term changes. This journey is hard to do on your own, you don’t have to do it alone anymore!
Michelle Lewis
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Michelle Lewis has been working in the mental health field since 2001. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Weber State University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Utah. She is passionate about helping others achieve their goals.
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