“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
Judgement Matters:
We constantly judge ourselves and are judged by others on our food choices. Assuming at this point we have decided what is “good” or “bad” as described in the last page, we then form judgements on this knowledge.
We avoid food that is “bad” and often consciously or subconsciously judge or create beliefs about ourselves and others based on that. “I shouldn’t have eating that dessert,” “I can’t eat at that restaurant,” “I should have known better.” These beliefs and judgements lead us to avoid things that bring us joy or to feel poorly about ourselves when we “succumb” to unhealthy choices.
Judgement by or towards others creates just as many problems. Thoughts like…”My parents don’t eat well, they are going to get sick,” “Eating meat is not spiritual or ethical, if you eat it you must not care.”
Avoidance from illness:
If you have ever had the flu or food poisening then you can recall what it is like to become hypersensitive to memories of food. Most of us avoid things that bring us discomfort and the longer it is avoided the stronger the aversion becomes. If you have a history of digestive symptoms or food allergies then meals can become sources of great fear, worry, and anxiety instead of joy and community. We can become hypervigilant about what we put in our bodies and overreactive when we are “exposed” to something we believe will make us feel unwell.
This is perhaps the largest “block” to healing food allergies I see in my office. The longer someone has struggled with digestive symptoms or food allergies the stronger the aversion to food becomes. Remember that our “body brain” responds to your perceptions of your internal and external world. Even the thought “Did they cook my food in the wrong oil?” or “Is the kitchen dedicated gluten free?” can become enough to trigger the “body brain” to react with fear, adrenaline, and signals to “run away” instead of signals to “digest.”
Up Next: When and Why You Eat