Anatomy of a Food Addiction by Anne Katherine M.A

Author:Anne Katherine, M.A.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gürze Books
Published: 2010-08-03T16:00:00+00:00

CREATE A SAFE HOME

Throw out all sugar and, when you get to that stage, refined starch products. If other family members insist on keeping your poison in the house, put all these items in one cabinet, closet, or box that you never need to get into. Feel free to put a lock on it and give everyone else a key.

Call a family meeting, with the following agenda. (The “I” in what follows is you; the “you” is your family members.)

AGENDA

Announcement: I (you) have discovered that sugar is harming me and messing up my life. To stop this, I will have to take some extreme measures. One day, some of these changes won’t be necessary, but for now, you (your family) can think of it this way—I am preparing to detox from a chemical that is as dangerous to me as heroin or cocaine.

House changes: I will be doing the following: Eliminating sugar from the house. (If there is an outcry, calmly describe the locked-cabinet idea.) Substituting healthier foods for what I’ve been eating: For example, whole-wheat bread for white bread, decaf for caffeinated drinks, fruit for sugar products. Becoming a stickler for three regular meals a day at regular times, even on vacation.

Define abstinence. This is not a diet. I am beginning the difficult process of detoxing from what for me is a harmful drug.

Describe withdrawal. When I begin abstinence, I will probably go through a period of withdrawal. I may become anxious and restless. I may have trouble sleeping. I may have periods of being very angry and very sad. I may have intense cravings to eat sugar and starches, especially from the third through seventh days. I may be eating other foods more. These feelings have little to do with you. Don’t be frightened, you aren’t causing my distress. This is a sign of the chemical changes occurring in my body.

How I will protect myself and you. I will be unable to participate in any major decisions or changes for the next three weeks. If you know of something coming up, let’s deal with it now. Otherwise, I’ll be available again in three weeks.

I will be talking to other people who have this addiction. I will be gone some evenings so I can attend support-group meetings and sometimes I will need to talk privately on the phone.

Please let me know the amount of support you are willing to give me by reading and marking this sheet. (Give each family member a copy of “How to Support an Abstaining Food Addict,” below.)

Model effective boundaries. I’d appreciate your comments, feelings, and reactions. (If someone tries a guilt trip or “what about my needs?” statement, hear them out but stress that this is something you must do for yourself and that you are confident everyone in the family will benefit eventually because when one person gets healthier, the whole family has a chance to become healthier. If the whining continues, say that you feel confident that they will find the strength to work this out but that you will be following your recovery plan no matter what.

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