Some people eat to live and others live to eat. We are becomming an obese country, getting heavier on average by the year. Food cravings are just like drug and alcohol cravings, they end up controlling us. We associate pleasure and comfort with certain foods and if we cannot get to them, we feel withdrawal symptoms.
It doesn’t matter which foods we crave, we are driven to get them ,hoard them, have a big supply of them, and eat them quickly. If you have FAD (food addiction disorder) you have a lot of company. Estimates are that up to one third of Americans are suffering from FAD and consider it ‘an issue’.
Food addiction can have several different consequences and none of them is good. There are so many physical illnesses linked to obesity. Physicians routinely advise their patients with diabetes, arthritis, heart conditions, and many other illnesses to lose a significant amount of weight. This is always interesting because I have seen a lot of fat doctors giving this advice.
The impact psychologically for food addiction is huge. Those with food addictions tend to become grossly overweight (unless they are purgers) and feel shut out by a society which preaches thinness and youth. Foodaholics feel guilty and ashamed. I have watched as people have commented to heavy people in the mall, walking along with an ice cream cone, that they do not need to eat anything more. The ‘thinnies’ in our society point to those who are ‘plump’ with a smirk on their faces, suggesting that fat people have no control over themselves and are weak and disgusting.
We Americans buy into stereotypes of the obese, that they are lazy, sloppy, people of no character, and inferior. This really hurts obese people in the world of work and in the world of dating and courtship. They in many situation are perceived as smelly and gross. The obese person recognizes this and internalizes these harsh perceptions. And the safe comfort haven to relieve the pain is, you guessed it, another big meal.
Surgeons have been very interested inn ‘helping’ people with FAD. They have rolled out surgeries which force people o stop eating. Star Jones is a very good example of someone who ‘did the deed’ to lose the weight. People who are are at least 30 pounds overweight can get a surgeon to staple and stop and take over control of their desires to stuff down more food. And some insurance companies will reimburse doctors for these surgeries which makes them all the more attractive.
Here’s the deal. If you live to eat, what is missing in your life? You are not getting what you need so you are taking what you want. Yes, it’s tough to examine your life and maybe have to make big changes. If you are in a toxic situation or have a toxic relationship, this may have to end before you can start healing. Stop the denial and start thinking that you deserve more happiness in your life , but it won’t be found in food.
If you have a story about your battle with FAD, please e mail us and let us know if you need more supportive articles to ‘power you up’.
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