"The number of individuals with disorderly eating issues is staggering. While there are statistics for anorexia & bulimia, there are none for the myraid of eating disorder patterns that lead to adult onset diabetes & other killer diseases, as well as to addictions.
And while it's not just about food or beverage consumption, it is much easier to locate the disorderly eating patterns that connect to addictions, be it smoking, alcohol, drugs, caffeine, sugar or high carbohydrate intake. My years of research show that many of these originated in childhood & so this is where they need to be addressed".... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
I'm currently working with Jennifer who has a stress-related compulsive & emotional eating disorder that is interfering with her current health & emotional well-being. She is also a secret eater & has hidden her involvement with these behaviors since she was a child. So besides her health issues, this is also playing havoc with her self-image & self-esteem.
Earlier on, Jennifer came to understand that in order for her to change her many destructive patterns, it was best for her to return to her childhood source.......traveling as a mature adult with the express desire to understand & then to gift healing & power to her child-Self. She went prepared with a list of questions for her subconscious mind...
Here's Jennifers first experience with this type of self-exploration...
In the past my mind was always too busy to focus in this way. I've always felt obstructed by my guilt & shame, especially around my food issues. Just knowing how to stay in my mature adult position was empowering & rewarding to me. I loved the way that felt. As I sat quietly & watched the pictures of my younger self on my mind screen, I could feel compassion, not only for myself, but for the situation in general. I was so little & had no power over what was going on. My father had died when I was three, leaving my mother to raise my two brothers & myself. The household was happy on the surface, but it appeared as if we were play-acting. My mother worked & when at home she was very busy. This was when my bingeing & secret eating began. No one really paid attention to what I was doing & so I had my own secret life that served as a haven for my lonliness & powerlessness. I can appreciate that I needed that then, but I realize that I don't need it anymore. I also understand that I can edit those early memories & bring closure to some of the pain my child suffered, simply by self-mothering her. I look forward to doing this.
Just like a puzzle has many pieces, emotional & compulsive eating behaviors have many facets that need to be addressed by relaxing deeply & then asking the right questions. Self-hypnosis allows us to do this while staying in our mature, adult Self position. This is called detachment. While some individuals prefer to do this exploration with a therapist, especially if there is deep abuse, the majority of us can do this level of inner work quite easily & with no negative repercussions. In fact, for most the results are just the opposite, just as in the case of Jennifer who felt empowered in situations that she had uncomfortably repressed for so long.
JENNIFER CONTINUES HER INNER WORK...
I'd like you to open your subconscious mind book to the nutritional area. This is where all of your early eating behaviors are noted. For those of you who are reading, you might like to read this paragraph first & then go deeper down into relaxation before inner exploring with Jennifer. Notice if you were breast- fed or bottle fed. Once you were weaned look at the following areas in ascending years of your life. Notice your family at dinner & the kinds of foods you were offered. See this as a toddler, & then early childhood to middle & late childhood. If nothing comes forward simply relax deeper into the picture. You may get the answers now, or later, but they will come. When we bring a picture up on our mind screen & then relax into it, the subconscious mind will add more detail. You may be surprised at what is served to you!
Also look to notice the ongoing attitudes during meal times.
Were they quiet or noisy?
Was the atmosphere friendly, loving or stress-filled? What else can you see or intuit here?
What were your favorite meal- time foods?
Can you taste them now?
How about snacks?
Were there lots of starches & sugars?
Were snacks controlled or did you have the open cupboard policy?
What sorts of beverages were offered?
Be sure to visit many different years in your life to get a good over-view.
If there were major stress events such as divorce, illness, deaths, view these separately. This will give you good insight as to how your family handled food in relation to stress. You might see where some of your early stressful eating was born. Once this is clear, you can edit these subconscious programs later on with interactive self-hypnosis.
If you were the Producer/Director of any of these memories or mind- scenes you are exploring, is there anything you would change? How would you edit it? Be very specific. Mind-editing is a positive experience. Even through you remember something happening in a particular way, remember this only a perception & therefore it can be changed.
Even if you are quite sure that it happened in the way you remember, you mind files will still benefit from editing. The reason for this is that memory files are coded with chemical emotion & if the chemical emotions do not work in your behalf, mind-editing gives you the opportunity to change this coding. What a great gift to yourself!
Practice with one memory. Just as if you were looking a page in your file that holds this memory, go ahead & re-write it. Perhaps you will diminish some of the emotions, or see your baby as very strong….. super baby! Even though you are planting fiction, & in this instance very humorous fiction, the subconscious mind will love it & the re-editing will be successful. This particular memory now has a healthier emotional code.
JENNIFER...
I'd like to give myself some new memories, especially when I was about seven. For some reason my disorderly eating accelerated in those years. While I'd like to find out more about that, right now I'd like to gift that particular child.
Jennifer can relax deeply into the moment & return to her mature, adult self. On the mind screen she can bring forth her seven year old child & image her opening presents chosen to heal & empower the child in some way. I'm going to suggest that Jennifer give her pictures of her mature, adult self, letting the child know that "everything turned out just right." Perhaps another gift could be an audio tape of soothing affirmations in the voice of her mature, adult self. Notice the child relaxing & practicing healthy eating behaviors. Remember, the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what is real & what is made up.
This blog is the workshop for thoughtWARE Books. The series includes Help.....My Life is Killing Me - Lifestyle Change Made Easy, Beyond Disorderly Eating & Bingeing, Holistic Weight Loss , Sugar....the Hidden Addiction, Nail Biting & Skin Picking & Small Change - The Power of Interactive Self-Hypnosis. At the present time I am seeking an agent and/or publisher.
FROM THE AUTHOR
There are many mp3/CD programs to help you organize & activate your life. Interactive Self-Hypnosis gives you the opportunity to "tweak" your own mind & to move forward at faster speeds.
Here is a complimentary mp3 for you to experience. The name of the program is Inviting Change. This is one full session from a 3 part program that is available on my websites. If you would like me to help you choose a program to meet your specific needs, please write to me.
