The Educated Eater Canada

By: Hollie M. Hunt-Last, D. C’Ed. ROHP/RHN – Moncton, NB

As previously mentioned, most commonly, there are two main ways that food is used regarding emotions : to push emotion down into suppression, or to fill an emotional void with fulfillment. Examples of each these were given last month.

NOW, to conclude this line of thought – here’s an example of a situation that entails both suppression and fulfillment : Could it be because you are bored, and without a distraction your thoughts turn in on you, prompting you to eat so that you do not hear (you’re suppressing) your disturbing thoughts? Does the boredom bring up for you a feeling of lacking something in life? In a case like this, you may eat to feel more fulfilled because it also fills in a temporary gap.

Exercise:

Whenever you are eating (and also when you’re not hungry),  inquire within to find out what’s really going on: which motivation to you experience more – suppression or fulfillment? What is the emotion behind that motivation? By becoming more conscious of the motivation behind your eating, you’ll be better able to adjust your habits by addressing the motivation, not just the resulting behaviour that you want to improve.