Food Doesn't Make You Numb - Thoughts About Food Do
“When I eat more than my normal amount of food, the food makes me feel numb.”
Have you ever said this to yourself?
Have you ever wondered why food makes you feel numb?
Let’s break this statement down to see what we really mean when we say this.
It is true that food may physically make you feel sleepy, or affect your blood sugar (aka your energy levels), BUT, food itself has no power to emotionally numb you from the world.
Our emotional feelings are a direct result of our thoughts. Therefore, the food we eat cannot create an emotional feeling. There must be a thought that we associate with food that results in the feeling of being numb. And most likely, that thought is littered with shame and guilt.
It might go something like this:
“I can’t believe you ate that, you have no control, you’re hopeless, you’ll never be good enough.”
That thought right there is what actually causes you to feel numb, not the food you ate. The food you ate is neutral. However, when you tell yourself that you’re worthless, you’re very likely going to respond by shutting down emotionally, or feeling numb.
So how do we avoid feeling numb?
- We eat the food that our body needs and wants, and we don’t beat ourselves up about it.
- When we notice we are attaching shame or guilt ridden thoughts to our behavior around food: notice the thoughts, detach from them, make a conscious choice not to put any further energy into them, and move on.
- We practice thinking the following thoughts when we eat, no matter how much or what kind of food we eat: I am satisfied and full and feel good that I listened to my body and gave it what it wanted.
Our body won’t numb without invitation. We’re in control of who gets invited to the party.
Until you begin to see food as a source of pleasure and nourishment and something that is good for you, you’ll continue to struggle with disordered eating.
Food is not the enemy. Diet culture and fatphobic thinking are the enemies.
