One common food addiction trigger is panic. Panic causes one to stop breathing in regular breaths. Regular breathing, and especially deep breathing, is calming.
That’s why people say “Calm down, take a deep breath” when you get agitated and appear panicky. Of course, no one likes to hear that command even if it does work.
Someone with a food addiction and a breathing emergency has a real challenge on their hands. I was reminded of that today when I ran out of a formula I take to help me breathe deeply. Now I know to order an extra bottle of it and make sure I always have a spare on hand.
I was shopping for non-food items in a drugstore that carries food when I fell off the wagon. I had actually run out of my elixir yesterday but had expected the new order to arrive today. It didn’t, which added to the panic.
When your body needs energy, it takes whatever it can get. In the scrambled emotional state of panic, confusion is the only winner. You go after food, water, juice, or any other substitute for air and sleep.
When you are unable to take a deep breath, you can’t yawn, so you can’t sleep. Without rest, the body loses energy and food is an alternate energy source.
It really doesn’t matter what you eat because until you can get the rest your body really needs, every other attempt to satisfy the “hunger” fails.
Some triggers are harder to deal with than others, and some you just have to let pass. These are the ones you must avoid. There is really no other way to deal with them.
Stay out of situations that you know will make you uncomfortable. I’m not saying never take a risk. Food addiction is different. You have to stay ahead of the game.
Good health is a treasure and should be regarded as such. For those struggling with an eating disorder be it emotional eating, binging or a full-blown food addiction, avoiding lose-lose situations is imperative.
There is more than a positive or negative mental attitude involved here. At some point, we all have to take charge of our health and our lives and decide how we want to live. Only then will we have the life of our dreams.
Air is like so many things we can easily take for granted. I don’t have to worry about my having a food addiction like I used to because I like who I am and I have a plan. Today, part of my plan was missing and I felt like I was back at square one.
Thankfully, the rest of the plan is in place and I’ll be back on track in a couple of days. Wake-up calls are good.