First, I want to share a podcast! You know I don’t do them often or regularly, but here is the latest: https://www.foodaddictioninstitute.org/podcast
Second, at the bottom of this email you will find a link to a survey that I need your help with. I am ready to restart the classes and support groups we have in the fall and winter. A wonderful loving person created a Survey Monkey link for me; so please take a look at the class options and times. Reply to what you think you would do; I promise the prices will be appropriate. And I am so eager to see you again, if only on Zoom!
Now for this week’s blog:
Good morning! I hope you enjoyed your conversations with Gertrude last week! This is one of the most helpful constructs I have found to help me and my clients stay on track. Understanding that food addiction is a physical disorder that functions in our minds and hearts independently of our rational thought, makes it so much easier to manage!
First, listen to the conversation in your brain. Are there parts of your mind that speak with the pronoun “YOU”? So they are not you. Who are they?
For years I have had someone saying rude things to me. I finally asked her who she was, and the name Gertrude came up, so that is who she has been. Gertrude is wonderful at remembering any negative thought, word, or deed that has happened in ANYONE’S life and blaming it on me. She is incredibly creative, manipulative, and persuasive.
Unfortunately, Gertrude does not have the same goals that Theresa does, most of the time. I have to pay attention to this fact; and I have to control her words and deeds. And I have learned to draw effective and important boundaries with her, so that the real Theresa gets to make my life choices. It is important for me to be clear that I am not Gertrude! (You wouldn’t like her much.)
There can be other voices in our brains, too, and we need to assess their value and position. And could we arrange a conversation in our brain with “the Wise Woman” who knows who I am and who I want to become? Or with a former teacher or sponsor? Or a coach who taught me to sing, dance or run marathons? Or with a loved one who has passed? Or with my “Inner Core of Wisdom”? Or even my Higher Power?
If you have studied a book or author you loved, the Bible, a Big Book, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, do their sayings not come up in your mind?
And think of the people who have taught you about food – Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, Keto, Phil, Mary, Esther Helga, Syd, maybe even Theresa. We need to evaluate what each of these people’s teachings mean for us, and whether they will lead us to the places we want to go.
My email was invented by my first client, the beloved Toni. Theresasez comes from her saying, “Theresa says you shouldn’t eat that!” Thank you for letting this Theresa into your life today. Next week we will talk about boundaries in relationships with other people.
Don’t forget to take the survey!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DQDPFVX
Blessings to you,
Theresa
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