All the lonely people. Where do they all come from?
~Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles

Overeating is often a disease of isolation. In the beginning, we may isolate ourselves so that we can be alone with our drug of choice: food. As overeating begins to take over our lives, our lives become smaller. We may isolate out of shame, secrecy and embarrassment over our size and behavior.

We may become depressed, anxious and despairing over our behavior and overeat to soothe these painful feelings. But the more weight we gain, the more we despair; and then we’re driven to eat, stuck in a vicious cycle. Desperate, we may try to diet, with our critical shaming internal voice prodding us to lose weight quickly and perfectly; and when we fail at that, well, what’s the use? We go right back to overeating … and the cycle goes on!

The antidote to isolation is connection. The first connection we need to make is to ourselves. Overeating disconnects us from our thoughts and feelings. We need to establish a connection to ourselves by paying close attention to our thoughts and feelings. We can practice checking in with ourselves during the day to notice what we are feeling and thinking. We can also keep a journal where we keep track of our thoughts and feelings and begin to notice what thoughts and emotions are driving our overeating.

We also need to make a connection to our Higher Self, a Higher Power, or God. This provides the strength, nourishment and grounding that will propel us forward on our healing journey. We can do this through meditation, yoga, prayer, being in nature, art, or some other meditative type activity.

We also need to connect with other people through a support group, forum, friend, or support coach. Connecting with others lessens our compulsion to overeat. It gets us out of our heads and back into life. Support groups can be especially powerful because we come to the realization that our problems are not unique to us and listening to others’ struggles gives us a better understanding of our own.

Service work or mentoring others is a great way to get out of ourselves and give back. Giving makes us feel good. As we share our experience, strength and hope with others, we in turn are nourished. We feel less alone and our burden is lifted. There truly is strength in numbers. We are all connected, and as we nourish our connections, we do our part in the healing of the world.

Am I alone in my problem? The solution is beyond me. I must reach out to connect with it.

The longer I isolate, the bigger my problem gets. Reaching out to connect with others and my Higher Wisdom soothes my compulsion to overeat.

Are you ready to come out of shadows of overeating and return to the lite? How you do food is how you do life! ® Contact me for a free consultation!