Feelings surface that have been buried for many years when food addicts withdraw from food addiction.  Since food addicts have used food as a drug to kill feelings, this puts the newly recovered person in a difficult situation without the mood-altering substance or the skills to deal with the pain. Repressed rage, shame, anxiety and depression will rise during early recovery. A powerful temptation to relapse results from the desire to eat because of these strong feelings. Learning to identify, express and experience feelings us an early task of recovery which aids in avoiding relapse. An addict’s style of dealing with feelings would be to “eat because of them.” A person new to recovery doesn’t know what to call feelings or what to do about them. They have very complicated emotions and to enjoy a successful recovery, they will need to learn how to untangle these complicated feelings. New patterns of dealing with emotions will emerge. Some of these patterns will be effective. Other patterns will be ineffective. In order to develop helpful methods of expressing feelings, it is a good idea to enlist the aid of a therapist who will provide guidance in effective ways of dealing with frozen rage and emotional pain. Some ineffective styles of expressing feelings include blame, criticism, angry outbursts, silence, repression and denial resulting in grandiosity, perfectionism, impulsiveness, obsessions and compulsions, self-pity and playing the role of the victim. The consequences of avoiding dealing with feelings are increased negative feelings, negative effect on relationships, decreased self-esteem, physical symptoms and inability to resolve life issues. Life is a series of being reactive rather than proactive. An effective means of managing emotions is to name them, claim them and dump them. This is certainly more easily said than done, but the idea is to identify feelings, take responsibility for them and to talk about them with your counsellor, therapist or other recovery support person. The next step is to express these feelings to the person directly involved. Getting past the fear and vulnerability of experiencing and expressing emotions is an early and humbling chore of recovery. Mary (not her real name) said that the first time she decided to take a chance and talk about her feelings was with her hairdresser.  How many hairdressers’ second job is to counsel their clients? This seemed like a safe place for Mary to unleash her frustrations about her marriage. She was surprised when the hairdresser failed to react at all when she mentioned a feeling. Mary didn’t start talking about feelings with her family; she bottled them up and used food to self-medicate. Mary started with her hairdresser then moved up the family chain until she sat her husband down and expressed her true feelings about their marriage. A daily inventory will aid in identifying the feelings of the day which require attention. Honesty about feelings is a powerful tool to prevent relapse. I strongly support the position that newly recovering people avoid opening painful issues from the past too early in recovery. This includes family of origin and abuse issues. Stay in the here and now while you develop a strong base in recovery. Here are some of the danger signs to be aware of in early recovery:
  • Hostility toward people and circumstances
  • Anger when certain subjects are discussed
  • Aggravation with authority figures
  • Irritation when criticised
  • Frustrated when things don’t go your way
  • Frequent bouts of depression
  • Resenting people, places, things and situations
  • Self-pity
  • Feeling insecure about measuring up to others
  • Showing intolerance by cutting others down – the Tall Poppy Syndrome
  • Road rage
  • Jealousy over what others have and do
  • Sadness, wanting to give up on life
  • Feelings of worthlessness and inappropriate guilt
  • Anxiety and panic attacks
  • Nameless fears
If you are battling with any of the above feelings, I strongly suggest getting help before you fall off the wagon and go on an eating binge. In the meantime, Amino Acid supplements like Tyrosine for the manufacture of dopamine and noradrenaline, which are required for concentration, alertness, memory and a happy, stable mood, will assist in balancing your brain chemistry. L-Glutamine can reduce both cravings and the anxiety, which can be found in my Ultimate Gut Health powder. No doubt you will have a fatty liver if you have gorged yourself on junk food.  A good liver tonic like LivaTone Plus is recommended and can be beneficial in those who have an inflamed liver or a sluggish liver. LivaTone Plus contains all the B vitamins and the amino acid Taurine. It also contains the antioxidant vitamins C and E as well as activated folinic acid which is vital for slow methylators. Magnesium Ultra Potent can be taken before bed to assist with a deep and restful sleep. It also helps to reduce stress and is also known as the “great relaxer”. The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.