If you've seen me since spring, you know I've lost weight. Forty-four pounds is a lot of weight to lose, but the story is really much more about the internal changes than the external ones. I want to invite you to lean in and listen as I talk with you about the journey I am on. I ask you to keep an open mind as I'm going to be as transparent as I can stand, and you might feel uncomfortable. I hope you will gain understanding of the struggle, and leave with the ability to connect with, support, and encourage people who live with an addiction to overeating food.
Living with food addiction is complicated. I want to scream that, but I'm holding back. It is only God's wisdom and mercy that has allowed me to have four months of sobriety around food. If you have ever dealt with any addictive tendency, you'll have little trouble believing that compulsion can be applied to most anything. When that compulsion drives a person to use a destructive substance, we consider it to be a disease, something that must be treated, something that is the result of deep wounds, and we recognize there must be intentional, immediate, drastic changes in the world of the person, if they are to gain victory over that substance.
But what if that substance is something necessary for survival? What if that substance is used every day, sometimes several times a day, and what if the person addicted to using it inappropriately is surrounded constantly by that substance? What if people who love that person bring that substance to them, inviting them to indulge in it; actually shaming them for NOT using it with them? What if that person has to prepare, monitor, and moderate that substance to which they have formed an unhealthy attachment? What chance does that person have of acquiring and maintaining sobriety from the substance to which they are addicted? Little to none, honestly. You can trust me. I've struggled with it my whole life, and so have countless others.
In Part Two of this series, I'll give you a peek into my experience with compulsive overeating, and share what is giving me hope that I might live above this addiction for the rest of my life.
Meanwhile, as you go about your day, and you interact with people who must wear on their bodies, the signs of surrender to the compulsion of overeating, I hope you will try to see them through my eyes. Those of us who fight to live with, but not UNDER, food addiction must face each day with great courage. The ability to moderate the amount and frequency of use takes a warrior's heart. You likely won't see their efforts, and you may have no ability to truly understand their struggle, but I hope you will see them a little differently today.
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Blessings, Friends.