The #1 cause of emotional eating

When how we feel does not match the expectations and “shoulds” we have set for ourselves it creates friction inside of us.⁣

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So we push our feelings down. Our feelings are not okay because we judge them as not okay. JUDGING our feelings, not HAVING feelings, is what creates the sensation of having a tight throat that then starts to feel like depression or something always being “off” and then eating a whole bag of chips. ⁣

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We get an inkling of how we feel, but then we’re like nah I can’t feel that because I have to keep going. I have to do X,Y,Z. Me feeling this will make someone else uncomfortable, or make me have to DO something that will make me or someone else uncomfortable. ⁣

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This was me today. I ALWAYS do this when it comes to work and rest.⁣

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I was feeling anxious all morning. I then realized it was because I had an expectation for myself that I was not allowed to rest. I was putting pressure on myself to work. And I was really tired and not feeling it. But I was so uncomfortable with just taking the time that I needed today to do things for ME, that I was trying to work on all these different things and nothing was happening. ⁣

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Then I was like whoa whoa whoa. This discomfort is not coming from how I feel. I just feel tired. The anxiety is coming from the voice in my head telling me “No. That’s not okay. You are not allowed to rest.”⁣

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THIS IS WHY WE HAVE ISSUES WITH FOOD. And issues in general. When we STOP JUDGING how we feel and just feel it, it’s not a huge deal. But when we don’t even give ourselves the grace of letting our own feelings be valid, we start compounding the problem.⁣

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All that emotional energy has to go somewhere. Pick your poison: food, alcohol, drugs, relationships, work, exercise; that emotion will FIND a way to express itself.⁣

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Judging yourself is exhausting. Fighting your feelings is exhausting. Fighting with food is exhausting. Stop fighting. Feel!