What Disregulated Eaters Are Searching For
Disregulated eaters often tell me
that they engage in unwanted eating because they’re unhappy or can’t find
meaning in life, so I was pleased to come upon an article in THE WEEK (2/22/13)
which draws enlightening distinctions between the two.
The article, The last word, puts forth the wisdom of Victor Frankl, a Jewish
psychiatrist and neurologist who lived through the Holocaust, authored the
classic MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING, and died in the late 1990s. Frankl saw
happiness and seeking meaning in life as two extremes which were mutually
exclusive. To him, happiness is momentary and fleeting, while finding meaning brings
more lasting, positive feelings. He says that “happiness cannot be pursued; it
must ensue. One must have a reason to ‘be happy.’” He means that we can’t
simply go around grabbing at happiness, but that it must be the consequence of
other pursuits. That is, one becomes happy as an outgrowth of what one chooses
to do.
The article also sites a recent
psychological study in which scientists found that a “meaningful life and a
happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different.
Happiness, the study found, is about feeling good” and “about drive reduction. If
you have a need or a desire—like, say, hunger—you satisfy it, and that makes
you happy. People become happy, in other words, when they get what they want.”
We can think of becoming happy occurring through a process of taking.
Finding ...
Source: Normal Eating - Category: Eating Disorders Authors: eatnormalnow Source Type: blogs
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