Five Ways to Help a Food Addict
There are many things you can do to help a food addict. Here are are my top five favorites.
1. Look them in the eye. Food addicts are invisible to those around them. Even if they have grown larger in size and take up more space, to most of society, they are invisible.Being acknowledged is important to everyone.
2. Listen when they speak. When a person speaks to you, don’t mentally plan your monologue so you’ll be ready when it’s your turn to talk. Active listening is a form of respect, and we all want that, don’t we?
3. Be courteous. Hold the door, offer to carry something when the person’s arms are full. Demonstrate kindness. Your actions tell people who you are.
4. Ask questions if you have them. Be honest. Listen to the answers without passing judgment.
5. Send a card or a flower on a special occasion like a birthday or at a sad time. There are cards for everything, physical cards, not e-cards. Physical cards which can be purchased for as little as 99 cents say you care without overstating your intentions and embarrassing you both.
You might think, “Well, how the heck does that help?”. It’s an easy question to answer.
Self-worth, self-esteem–however you want to label it–is so important. No matter how high an opinion we have of ourselves, or how many times we find the hero in ourselves, it is vital to be acknowledged by others.
Not for fame or acceptance, but for validation that we matter, that someone cared enough to be kind, that we are valued. Acts of kindness have become acts of convenience.
Sending a card through snail mail is expensive and a waste of time, right? Wrong, In fact, it is quite the opposite. Those few moments, collected and pieced together in an effort to tell someone they are not alone are precious.
I cannot count the many times I have revisited cards I received decades ago. I remember the time and place and all the wonderful feelings those words ignited in my heart.
Help need not be delivered in the form of advice. Food addicts get plenty of that.
The inspiration that comes from being acknowledged fills your heart so completely that, even if only for a brief time, you don’t feel like you’re starving anymore.
Tags: Food Addiction, Kindness, Self-esteem, Self-worth
Food Addiction, Food Addicts, Self Help | Bernadette February 19, 2011
2 Comments to “Five Ways to Help a Food Addict”
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By Tasha, May 29, 2011 @ 6:05 pm
I appreciate your service. I have an over eating disorder and food addiction too. The atmosphere I live in is unhealthy like everything in my life. I truly want help, is there any inpatient services you know of for a young adult without insurance? Half way houses, recovery homes, etc? In your area or a different area. Thanks so much.
Tash
By Bernadette, May 31, 2011 @ 10:33 pm
Thanks for writing, Tash. It’s hard to make progress when you live in an environment that triggers emotional eating incidents. However, I am certain there is something in your life that you may not be thinking of just now, perhaps hidden deep in your heart, that is not unhealthy. Focus on that for now and let the rest be what it is. Focusing on the good in your life will let you step back from the things that make you want to eat in a self-destructive way. It will also help you think of yourself in a better way. About the inpatient facilities, most that I know of require insurance or a credit card. I do know of a website that will help you find halfway houses that are geared to people with addictive behaviors. Most are for drugs and alcohol but some also work with eating disorders. Click on the link to your state at http://www.findahalfwayhouse.com. There is enough information so that you can call a few of them and find out more. Or you can fill out the form if that’s easier. Even if these facilities don’t have exactly what you’re looking for, they may know of some place that does. Be sure to ask them. I will research it more and post whatever I can find out as soon as I get moved into my new place.