Gentle Reminder: Be Sensitive to Yourself

~ Julie de Rohan, eatonomy®

You’re walking back from the shops one day when, out of the corner of your eye, you sense movement in a nearby alleyway.

As you approach, you realise it’s a little child, about 4 years old. As she turns her face towards you, you see she’s crying.  Her expression is a mix of anguish and fear. She’s alone, save for a small teddy which she’s clutching with both hands.

You bend down in front of her.

Then, you reach into your shopping bag and remove a tube of Pringles, a packet of 12 doughnuts, a family pack of chocolate bars and a large tub of ice-cream.

“Eat these until you feel sick”, you tell her.

As you leave, you add over your shoulder: “man up, princess, people have it worse than you”.

Awful, yes? But, for people whose overeating is emotion-driven, this is how we approach ourselves when we’re in emotional need.

Meeting our needs without food involves developing a compassionate inner dialogue. We need to learn to speak to ourselves in the caring way we would a vulnerable child: What’s wrong? It’s OK, I’m here. You can tell me. I’d really like to help you”.

It’s also about being willing to wait for the answer.

Often, we fall into the trap of telling ourselves what we’re feeling in the hopes of moving on quickly because it’s uncomfortable – “It’s OK, I know you’re sad, you’ll be alright”. Instead, we need to listen patiently as we would to a child plucking up the courage to tell us what they’re upset about.

The 4-year old in the alleyway deserves to be heard, understood and comforted.

When you’re upset or in need, so do you.

©️ Julie de Rohan 2019.

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For more on why it’s important to be sensitive to yourself, read “Why Does Being Mean to Yourself Matter?”.

Published by Julie de Rohan, eatonomy®

A psychotherapist and binge eating disorder specialist helping people struggling with compulsive eating, emotional eating and binge eating.

9 thoughts on “Gentle Reminder: Be Sensitive to Yourself”

  1. Oh wow Julie, what a powerful post. When you put eating issues in this perspective, it brings a whole different dimension to it. I had to read this post about three times there was so much depth in it. Thank you, Lxx

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Having re-read it this morning, it does pack a bit of a punch. So often people with emotion-driven overeating were emotionally neglected as children, so it’s understandable that they neglect themselves in this way as adults. But it is possible to heal, it just takes relating to ourselves with compassion and understanding. Many thanks for your comment, Lol.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Love what you say in this comment Julie.
        Exactly right.
        Now I do not eat as I used too, I take care with my thoughts and actions.
        Had a lot of curveballs but am stronger for it.
        So good to be back for your wisdom.
        Thank you.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Thank you for sharing…. 🙂

    “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”

    Liked by 1 person

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