Overcoming Binge Eating and Bulimia

Welcome to Support to Stop Overeating.  I’m Karla, and I’m here to extend a warm welcome to you if you are struggling with bulimia, binge eating, and emotional overeating. The journey towards healing of the Self is not unlike watching a river find its flow, winding its way along the river banks.  In today’s blog post, we’ll dive into a metaphor of a river to understand how we can gently navigate our challenges of dealing with bulimia, binge eating and emotional overeating.

The River’s Journey

Imagine a river that flows with strength and purpose. The water moves gracefully, yet with unwavering determination. Occasionally, the river will come up against obstacles — rocks, fallen trees, or narrow passages.  Instead of pushing against these hurdles with force and intensity, the river gently adapts its course, finding new pathways around the obstacles.  It doesn’t stop flowing; it adapts and changes itself and continues on to find its own path.

A Metaphor for Recovery

In the realm of bulimia, binge eating, and emotional overeating, this river can symbolize the energy of our inner world.  Each challenge, feeling, or trigger may seem like an immovable barrier. Yet, rather than forcefully confronting these issues or criticizing ourselves, we have the opportunity to learn from the river.  We can gently adapt our course, seek new paths around our troubles, and find healing routes that resonate with us.

This approach is deeply rooted in living by your own values, developing a sense of compassion for your Self, a growing trust in yourself and your body, and building a deeper awareness and presence in your everyday life.  Like the river, trusting in our natural energy flow and respecting our own boundaries means attempting to let go of being overly controlling.  Instead, we keep coming back to the hard thing – allowing in feelings of compassion for ourselves – as compassion is the thing that has been proven to be the antidote for our shame.

Embrace Your Inner River

Embracing our “inner river” involves recognizing our triggers and patterns and becoming aware of when we go up into our heads and start judging ourselves for our “less than perfect” eating behaviours.  It’s about finding peace with our very human imperfections and understanding that our need for control can be channeled into feeling a more empowered in charge of our eating.

Incorporating a 20 second pre-meal pause might help us to first connect with, then honour and respect our own choices just that little bit more.  This pause can gradually assist us in reducing any compulsions associated with our bulimia, binge eating, and emotional overeating.

Conclusion

As you navigate your path to recovery, remember that it’s okay to change your course anytime, like the river changes its course. Embrace your uniqueness – the ability to grow, adapt and heal is within all of us. For further support and tailored resources, feel free to explore Support to Stop Overeating.