Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Before you take the first bite
I’m not insane, the disease is
The disease – in the big picture
Inside the disease – teasing apart the threads
Food to relieve boredom and generate “excitement”
Food as love, as family bonding (happy memories)
Food as parental rebellion (bad memories)
Hopelessness – the inner defeatist
Fighting the internal authority figure
People Pleasing and Peer Pressure
Dealing with the “inner miser”
Perfectionism: Letting the disease give you a reason to binge
Deeper causes: The long-term reaction to trauma
Food as protection (psychological/sexual)
Fear of new sexual feelings and their ramifications
The monster under the bed: misdirection and buried discontent
Lies our disease tries to tell us
Talking to the threads of your disease
Beneath the surface: Dealing with long-term trauma
Food as protection (psychological/sexual)
Aspect #1: Commitment to Action
Aspect #2: Getting in touch with your values
Getting in touch with your higher self (or the God within)
Writing exercise: Why am I doing this?
Writing exercise: Seeing a Future of Abstinence
Aspect #3: Commitment to Action
Writing exercise: Examining your food behaviors
Envisioning a change in your food behaviors
Writing exercise: Changing your food behaviors
Aspect #4: Becoming the Observer
Having the internal dialog with your threads
Looking at the disease as a whole
Aspect #5: Defusion – A thought is not an action
Aspect #6: Mindfulness – Pausing to Examine
Looking back at the previous exercise
Denial: beware of a cunning, baffling, and powerful foe
Wrapping Up: Putting this plan into action
Another View of Some program concepts
Acceptance - You’re done hurting me
Humility: Becoming a Human Being
APPENDIX I: Conversations with my disease