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oofs
366 M Embraced 3
PathStep 4 Compassion hearts12 Forum posts6 Forum upvotes13 Current upvotes13 Age GroupAdult Last activeAugust, 2019 Member sinceMay 29, 2019
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Food as a Coping Mechanism
Eating Disorder Support / by oofs
Last post
 June 21st, 2019
...See more So I used to smoke cigarettes. . . (And do a lot of drugs.) I quit everything except the occasional cannabis or alcohol, and I noticed that cigarettes were my coping mechanisms for every emotion. Sad? Cigarette. Happy? Cigarette. Mad? Cigarette. Bored? Cigarette. Now I don't smoke, every time I feel an unpleasant emotion or get excited, I eat. I have a lot of anxiety pretty consistently, and I don't know how to cope with it in a healthy way. I've also noticed that when I eat, I'm disassociated. I don't actually enjoy eating whatever I'm eating. I have no idea what it tastes like, I eat fast, and I often overeat. Some things that have actually helped me: •Chewing more (I read 32 is the magic number, but I often forget or just let myself go inhale my plate) •Slowing down when I eat •Drinking water before a meal and between bites •Having no distractions (no phone/TV) & focusing on the flavors/texture/savoring it •Not having any food around (i.e., no snacks, esp trigger foods) & only eating during meals I know these things help me, but I often struggle to make myself do them or forget to do them. I also think the underlying causes for my BED is I used to be kinda anorexic... (fast, binge, regret, repeat was my cycle) and I need to find a healthy way to cope with anxiety and uncomfortable emotions.
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