What does letting go of binge eating have to do with animal communication? Well, it’s part of my journey.
Some of us are born animal communicators. Not me. I was a born animal lover – that’s for certain. I loved being outdoors exploring streams, fields and woods. But – as far as I can tell – I wasn’t consciously communicating with animals.
My healing journey eventually led to becoming an animal communicator. It was a spiritual journey of releasing a lot of emotions and beliefs about myself. And I’m a better animal guardian.
May your healing journey lead you to something extraordinary, too. If it’s possible for me, it’s possible for you.
Diets didn’t solve my binge eating
If you have issues with food, the word “diet” pops up. You’ll see a bunch of ads and people sharing their diet success plans. This isn’t bad. But for me, the real problem was using food to deal with my emotions.
“Getting control” over the binging didn’t work
I first controlled my food intake through calorie counting and staying away from certain foods. There were good foods and bad foods. The scale was my master – it decided whether I was worthy of self-respect.
Binging = obsession + compulsion. Ugh!
I obsessed over what I ate or didn’t eat. With regularity, I ate until my stomach hurt. Then I critiqued my terrible compulsion. Shame over the inability to control this habit was also part of my emotional make-up.
Binging = “stuffing” my emotions
There’s always a benefit to negative behaviors like binging. For me, binging stuffed my anger, shame, anxiety and disappointment.
That’s the hard part of letting go of binging. How do you express anger and disappointment when you weren’t taught how to communicate them in a responsible way?
Read this excellent article by Courtney Pool, How Anger and Compulsive Eating are Related.
Creating my healing intention
In time, my healing intention was to have a normal relationship with food. Food offers sustenance, it’s one of the pleasures offered in this life and gives us reason to gather together. I desired moderation and health.
A big part of my ability to work through binging was a support group and individual counseling. For many of us, fixing this problem by ourselves doesn’t work. It didn’t work for me.
What changed as I healed from binging
The old rules about good and bad foods didn’t apply anymore. Most times, I stopped eating when I was full. If I ate too much, I didn’t return to binging.
At some point, calorie counting became a step backwards. I gave away my scale because, although it was a good way to chart my progress in the early stages, it became another obsession. I allowed the scale to decide whether I was worthy of self-respect.
The result?
I’m not at a perfect weight but the obsession and the compulsion are gone. I focus on what keeps me healthy physically and mentally without obsessing. When I veer off the healthy path, I make adjustments with the help of people I trust. Spiritual healing at its best!
How my animals benefit
I’m quicker to own up to my anger. So I’m less likely to take it out on my animals.
True Confession – I can be snarky on walks when I’m upset about my day. But when I realize I’m snarky, I apologize to my dogs. Out loud.
They’re like, “Yeah, you were being a bit impatient and rude. But it’s ok, we love you.”
Read more about our emotions and our animals.
.Forgiving & letting go for our animals’ sake