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: Source Type: blogs