Feelings aren't facts

I had an interesting conversation with a friend this morning. When the obsession to eat occurs, it does not have to overtake me. Unfortunately, I bought into this lie for most of my life, that somehow food would 'fix' things. Whenever I had a feeling, something would go into my mouth. Soon, all feelings felt like 'hungry' and the anxiety that resulted seemed to only be quelled by a pacifier - some food in my mouth.

But, as I didn't buy into that old thinking and didn't act on the feeling to eat,I fould that the feeling had a beginning and an end. I didn't die over it. Go figure! I might have once, years ago, had an "ahhh' moment when feeling anxiety and putting something in my mouth. I chased that 'ahhh' moment for the next 25 plus years, but if I ever got another 'ahhh', it was a quickie and pretty much followed by that 'ewww' feeling, again. Not only would the anxiety still be there but then I had some good old fashioned remorse as icing on my emotional cake.

Until I allowed myself to go through that momentary anxiety, come out on the other side relatively unscathed, how could I know that the anxiety wouldn't kill me? Sure, it initially felt that way but it always subsided, whether I ate or not. So, why eat? Why exaserbate the anxiety? It is so strange how we think food will 'fix' us and it doesn't. I want it to, and I tried so hard to make it true, that it'd fix me, but it never did.

Love, Gerri
trust God and buy broccoli