Denial, It's Not Just a River in Egypt

Everyone has heard the term "hitting rock bottom."  We associate it with alcoholics and drug addicts.  And we know that different people hit their rock bottom  and become sober for good at different levels of addiction.  Some people are able to quit at a very early stage of addiction; some quit when they lose their job or their family or both; and some lose everything and die but never quit.

Think I'm not talking about you?  Is abuse of food different than alcoholism?  Do you eat when you are angry, lonely, tired, sad, frustrated or bored?  Even happy? Are you afraid of feeling your emotions? Maybe you use food/alcohol/drugs to numb yourself.  What would happen if you just allowed yourself to feel?

Victoria Boutenko, in her book 12 Steps to Raw Foods , points out a fascinating observation.  " . . . hitting the 'rock bottom' is not connected to disease or dispair but to something else.  What is the magic wand that returns people to the fullness of life?  The miraculous transformation happens when a person perceives the problem so clearly that he/she is not afraid to admit it to others . . . Some people are afraid of admitting the truth; others don't understand why it is so important . . . Such non-willingness to acknowledge the truth is called denial."

Writing this blog is a huge step for me.  In fact, it is really uncomfortable.  Shouting out to the world that "I have a problem and it's name is F-O-O-D is downright mortifying.  (Did I really think you didn't know just by looking at me?) But I'm here because I don't want to gain this weight back.

And I see so many people struggling with addiction all around me who want to stop but are so desperately afraid of having anyone else aware of their problem.  So they suffer because they know that some people will pass judgement.  But many others won't, because secretly, they are addicts of some sort too.  So don't be afraid.  Talk to other people.  Shout it out! What is the worst thing that could happen?  I think you'll be surprised at how entirely liberating it is.