The love of food is sparse around the world. Our love for exquisite meals travels across cultures and eating is an integral rite in many of social practices. We eat to celebrate. We eat to date. Some cultures even eat to mourn. Food, has meaning in our life and examining that meaning can help us understand a few things about ourselves. In fact, this blog is intended to help the readers think about their relationship with food; or better how they must act to feel satiety (feeling full after a meal).
The idea is that sometimes human beings may use food to cope with the sense of incompleteness that frustrates their lives. In a way stuffing yourself with food may give one a momentary psychological relief as one feels full at that moment. Notice the parallel created here; a self that is incomplete is a self that has holes (voids) in it. A hungry individual is one who has a hole in his apetite. Sometimes the human mind can use one process to gratify the other; although most commonly the subconscious usually uses the gastrointestinal process to cope with the mental/psychological deficiencies. However, many dietary strategies use a similar strategy which encourages people on diets to focus with a degree of discipline on successes in life that should in term reduce the craving for food.
Essentially, what we are suggesting here is that some people may actually indulge in food as a direct strategy to fill a void that is psychological. The feeling of satiety is an attempt to satisfy the need for completeness of the soul. But unfortunately, it is a very ineffective strategy and it breeds the chances for an eating disorder. It is the work of trickery to ourselves, as we try to lure our mind to believe that we are ok. In these situations, patients who have such struggles would require psychotherapy that helps them address the intrapersonal issues that air the need from deep within. On occasions some individuals meet someone who completes them and almost immediately they begin to feel that their cravings are alleviated.
Sometimes, the void within has represents a lag in certain skills necessary to deal with difficult situations in life. In fact it is not uncommon for people to use food or drink in times of stress. In a way it follows the same principles that when one does not have the internal resources to deal with the situations that life presents, one attempts to fill that emptiness with food or drink. Clearly, this strategy teaches no skills and therefore life problems persist and remain unresolved. Life coaching can help in developing the skills necessary to address life.
Masheb, R.M. & Grilo, C. (2005). Emotional overeating and its associations with eating disorder psychopathology among overweight patients with Binge eating disorder, International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Steve Libreri is a social worker and parent coach within Willingness. He offers parent coaching and social work sessions. He can be contacted on steve@willingness.com.mt.