There is no better way of understanding therapy work unless it is first experienced. The way to begin is awareness. I recently started consuming more bread (not just any carbohydrates) than I usually do. I wasn't sure why but I was aware of it. I brought it up for a tapping therapy to see the underlying cause to it and if it was linked to anxiety, stress, feeling of scarcity or loss. While it did help, it was more than just stress or anxiety. It could easily be linked to any event that is taking place in our lives that may be affecting us.
You may have heard of these terms stress eating / emotional eating / comfort eating. To be in scarcity, think about the past during a war or famine, people tend to hoard food and eat them for fear of not having any to eat the next day; problem is, the war has been over long ago or even two to three generations back. Yes, unfortunately, trauma can lead their way to the younger generations through beliefs, norms or even behavior/actions passed down. This will be shared in the next blog write out on, Inter-generational healing. Food can also be comforting; it does make us feel somewhat safe, happy and connected.
What I want to share today is about emotional eating; food being a comforting agent. Food usually connects us to a person, usually someone who loved, cared, supported us; or it could be a reminder of times when families hung out happily and connected over food. When you start to crave for certain foods, ask yourself, as you take a bite of your favorite food - biscuits, cakes, bread, sweets, etc -
who did you use to enjoy that food with (usually in the past),
what memory lives around that food,
what emotions are you lacking currently and are seeking to feel safe/grounded/happy.
When everything is linked up like having the right numbers to opening up a vault, healing usually takes place. EFT tapping helps us to find out the connections of food and eating behaviors to event, people, emotions, and what we seek / need in the current moment. It helps us to release the stressful / anxious / depressive emotions around the current situations, finding the resources and feeling safe within.
For me, it was my father and how he usually made me sandwiches when I would go on a field trip. It reminded me of his love, providence and support. Food is almost always a connection to someone, an emotion, past and present; the thing about emotional eating is that the emotion had been placed on the food and not in our hearts where it rightfully belongs.
Comments