Posted by Dr.Hughes in the Creative Community category on 21-11-2011
On not so good days, do you find you could eat anything that isn’t nailed down? Susan Albers book, 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food, might be just what you’re looking for. Bare in mind that many people self-soothe by eating.
Often, however, there is a frenetic pace to this eating so it may not be pleasurable at all … it may be serving the purpose of dissociation: the experience of zoning or numbing out. Soothing is lost and guilt and regret seep in. There is a contradictory nature to eating to self-soothe. It can calm you down but it can also make you feel out of control.
I often conceptualise binge eating or other disordered eating behaviours as like an addiction. Habits play a big part and the most effective way to change disordered eating behaviour is to find something helpful to put in its place.
Susan Albers book provides (1) Mindful Meditation Techniques, (2) Ways to Change your Thoughts around Eating, (3) Soothing Sensation Activities to Calm and Relax the Body, (4) Soothing by Distraction, and (5) Soothing via Social Relationships.
This is a down to earth book that helps people to understand why emotions play a part in eating. The book provides practical strategies to promote change and explains the core ideas behind these strategies. This book is very eclectic and is likely to cater for all types of eaters, personalities, and levels of readiness for change. Five stars! *****
Find out more at Susan Albers website.
