The following is derived from Chinmayi’ Dore’s best-selling book, BodyMAGIC! – an End to Emotional Eating Forever, available on Amazon.

 This is a summary of some of the methods by which we can overcome troubled times. Times when we are emotionally charged and would’ve normally gone to food for comfort.

Change Your Mind

 

The unconscious mind has a part in overeating because it wants to keep you from famine. It wants to keep you safe. But because it’s your unconscious mind you are not aware of this process. It moves you to safety so fast by finding comfort, for example in food, you are likely to have overeaten before you realise it.

The BodyMAGIC! way teaches you to recognise these tendencies before overeating starts.

 

It is where Discipline comes in. It is the part of The 7 Spells of BodyMAGIC! over which we have the least control. Your Discipline comes as you take a breather to do any of the practices below. The result is the Willpower that, when away from temptation, is what you really crave.

When we master this spell we are truly on the road to recovery.

Think of these like a first aid kit. You wouldn’t wait to cut yourself before you went to the pharmacy and bought some plasters, would you? The prudent thing to do is to have a well-stocked first aid kit in your home, office or suitcase.

You can now prepare yourself for the incidental events in life. From now on these events are going to be enjoyed to the fullest. You are going to be conscious, relaxed and totally present with all of your life’s food-related events. As emotional overeaters we have often been caught off our guard. We go ahead and indulge, and probably most of the time enjoy it. But it is the next day that we suffer, berate ourselves and think that we should know better.

These tools are like reinforcements to help you in those short moments when you do have a choice, when you are making a choice that doesn’t serve you or when you have made the choice and feel bad for making it. The emotions can vary from initial anxiety to guilt. It doesn’t matter at what stage of the process you decide to use these tools; the long-term benefit will always be there. But with practice it will be earlier and earlier and you’ll find yourself giving cravings a kick in the butt!

Help for Hunger

 

‘W’ questions
– why are you hungry?
– what can you eat that will suffice now?
– will you really keel over if you don’t eat in the next hour?
– when is your next planned meal or snack?
– which mind is overpowering you: your subconscious (habitual patterns), unconscious (fear of starvation) or do you have a conscious and sensible reason for wanting/needing to eat soon?
– who is trying to wreck your plans for health and wellness? Is it part of your old self or is someone not supporting you?

 

Have a little card or piece of paper in your purse or wallet that has the W questions on it. If you can, escape to the nearest WC or bathroom and take a good look at the list. Breathe deeply as you read through the questions and answer them to yourself.

 

Help for Stress

 

Flower Remedies

There are several flower essences that help with the emotions that drive us to overeat. ‘Bach’ have selected three and boxed them as the Emotional Overeating Kit. In stressful times, I used to put a few drops of each into a bottle of water and drink it regularly throughout the day. It sure does help! For really challenging times and strong emotions, I have Rescue Remedy in my bag. There is a link to Resources that will take you to much more information.

 

 

Emotion Elevator

On another little card, write down the unhelpful emotions and their helpful opposites. Use this either before you overeat (here, you’re really making progress!), during your overeating or after your overeating. When you feel an overeating drive because of an emotion, refer to the card and work towards the helpful emotion opposite.

Unhelpful Helpful
Anger Gratitude
Cruelty Compassion
Disgust Admiration
Familiarity Surprise
Fear Hope
Greed Generosity
Hate Love
Hurt Relief
Loss Gain
Panic Knowing
Shame Pride
Sorrow Joy
Other Other 

 

Emotional Freedom Technique

Even if you have just overeaten, it’s never too late to tap. It’s a great emergency treatment for emotional overeating. But do it as soon as you can, for it will move your healing forward that bit closer to where you would prefer it to be

A summary of the practice and points is here. Please refer to Chapter Sixteen of BodyMAGIC! for more details.

The Nine Reminders

to keep you going. Ask yourself:

 

  1. Have I ever had the opportunity to focus so intently on my emotions related to eating before?
  2. How many diets have asked me to get to Know Myself or Know my Worth? How cool is that?
  3. How much money have I actually spent so far on this book, compared with diet or slimming programmes?
  4. When have I ever had the opportunity to find out what really goes on in my mind around food?
  5. How hard can it be to see it through? What do I have to lose?
  6. How will I ever know if I don’t try?
  7. Look at my ideas for health, healing, and happiness. They have MAGIC! powers
  8. I really can live the rest of my life exactly the way I want to, guaranteed! I have that much personal power now and in the future, if I keep up my practice.
  9. I am more likely to regret not doing this programme than doing it. 

Journal

When things get really tough, take out your journal. Not your gratitude diary, but the journal you write in most mornings to get stuff off your chest. So what if you’ve already written three pages already! The paper is a free and available therapist. It may be the last thing you want to do in your moments of meltdown, but what the heck? Just do it anyway. Write down everything you feel, bitch about whatever or whomever you like. This is a detox of your negative thoughts. It is not the same as affirmations. Then, when you feel calmer, keep writing and allow solutions to write themselves on the page. Stick with it until you know what to do or, what not to do to bring yourself back into balance.

OM

The cosmic sound of OM is a very powerful sound indeed. It is the original sound of the Universe. When we chant this sound, we are reconnecting with the great vibration. Hence the word Uni-Verse. It is grounding, centering and enlightening. It reminds our cells of the connection between all beings, animal, vegetable and mineral. It shifts us from our individual ego and helps us to develop the wisdom of compassion and the peace of letting go.

     

    1. Inhale deeply into your belly
    2. Exhale the sound of OM. About half of your breath is the O sound and the remaining half is the mmmm sound. Release it slow and long.
    3. Repeat several times.

    Meditation

    So what if you’ve already meditated once in your day! This is part of your daily practice and will benefit your life now and in the long term. But there will always be troubled days. Why not use meditation as a therapy too! As soon as you can, get some time alone and just sit. If you don’t want to close your eyes, find something to stare at for 5-10 minutes. It could be the sea, a rock, a flower, the moon or a star. Great if it is a natural object. If you cannot get outside, how about a crystal or a picture of your spiritual teacher or a symbol? Just stare. Do not intellectualise colours or form, stare blankly. As you do this, so will your mind also become blank. And you will release tension, criticism and emotions that don’t serve you.

     

    “It takes no more time to see the good side of life than it takes to see the bad.”

    ~ Jimmy Buffet