What Does “Love” Have to Do with Binge Eating?
God created you to feel love, love others and be loved. Your physiology is designed with love and connection in mind. Safe attachments with others calm your nervous system and allow you to access the best parts of yourself. You were meant to be in relationship with Him and others.
When you are safe and free from fear, you feel connected and calm. You feel free to be curious, courageous, and creative. You are compassionate toward yourself and others. You are confident, your mind is clear to act in a manner that is congruent with your values. All is well.
This is called the 8 C’s of love. Unfortunately, many of us have difficulty attaining and maintaining this mind-body state, finding yourself defaulting into a state of protection instead of connection. You become stressed out, tired and want to be left alone. It’s all too much!
You turn to food as your primary attachment, and it works to calm and soothe, but then…especially for those of you who binge eat, you detach, collapse, and isolate into a state of shame, anger, and fear.
There is hope. As you learn, you become curious and befriend your body and mind. You become more aware of your stress states and love states, you can learn to leverage our own nervous system. You can transform a fear-based life into a life where you experience more states of safety. This process extends into your relationship with yourself, others and with food. When you are not in a state of fear, your relationship with food changes. You move toward food with awe and wonder and your fears and insecurities begin to fade. Imagine what your life could be if you weren’t afraid?
Dr. Kari Anderson has positioned herself as a respected clinician and leader over the course of 30 years in the field of eating disorders. She co-created the Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating for Binge Eating program based on her research at Arizona State University earning her a Doctor of Behavioral Health. The book, Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat for binge eating and its companion workbook proceeded her most recent book and memoir, Food, Body and Love; but the greatest of these is love. She is in private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona and connects with her followers through her Facebook group, book clubs and retreats.