What's Eating You?
Certain foods are linked to specific moods.- Sad? Ice Cream and Cookies.
- Happy? Pizza or Steak
- Bored? Potato Chips
Sometimes, we use food to mask feelings of anger, fear and guilt. Many people in our congregations, struggling with this complex issue, find themselves in a destructive cycle of emotional overeating and binge eating.
Unlike other addictions, one cannot just abstain. An alcoholic achieves sobriety by staying completely away from booze. The recovering drug addict stays away from drugs -- but a person suffering from disordered eating cannot simply stay away from food.
We must reimagine our relationship with food, so it is our fuel rather than our focus. In other words: eating to live rather than living to eat.
Hope, Help & Healing for Eating Disorders, by Dr. Gregory L. Jantz, is a helpful resource for pastors, counselors and friends of those struggling with food issues, and is a good tool for someone to begin the journey towards emotional healing.
"Food is meant to be your ally, meant to strengthen and sustain you;," notes Dr. Jantz, "it was never meant to be your enemy, your lover, your friend, or whatever you substitute it for."
This insightful guide explores the emotional, relational and spiritual aspects of eating, and uses thoughtful questions to help the reader navigate the maze of painful experiences, tangled relationships, and conflicted feelings.
A word of caution. People battling with such issues as anorexia and bulimia will not be "fixed" by merely handing them a copy of this book, although it addresses both. Used in conjunction with appropriate counseling, it is an outstanding source of hope and encouragement for those seeking help.
(a complimentary issue of the book was provided to me by Waterbrook Press for review on this blog.)
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