Feeling versus Thinking Around Food
It’s sadly ironic that many
disregulated eaters make decisions backwards. On the one hand, they overthink
things—called intellectualization or rationalization—when they’d be better off
tuning into their emotions and acting on what they feel. On the other, they
mistakenly make choices based on what they feel rather than employing higher order thinking to decide what’s best for them. Time to turn that around,
huh?
Here’s an example of ignoring emotions
and, instead, rationalizing. Say, you’re dining with old friends and find
yourself eating way more than usual. Feeling bored, you realize that you don’t
have much in common with them any more, but tell yourself they still feel close
to you and believe you shouldn’t feel uninterested in friends who were once so central
to your life. Rather than go with your intuition, you feel terribly guilty and end
up making plans to get together with them again soon.
Alternately, here’s an example of
ignoring evidence-based thinking and, instead, going with a feeling. After a
stressful work day, you feel desperate to eat something oozing fat and sugar. Your
emotions insist, “I have to eat this
or I’ll feel deprived. Just one bite and no more. Nothing else will make me feel better.” Etcetera, etcetera. While
your feelings prod you toward food, your thoughts recall that you experience bloating after eating a load of sugar and fat, never eat
just one bite, and you
recognize that emotional eating won...
Source: Normal Eating - Category: Eating Disorders Authors: eatnormalnow Source Type: blogs