To be able to give up comfort eating, overeating or binge-eating, you're going to need to learn how to be kinder to yourself. This might be a whole new language for the comfort eater. So, here I give you some examples of what to say.
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Hi, this is Shelly Treacher from Underground Confidence.
One of the things that I work with a lot with comfort eating is learning how to be kind to yourself. How you talk to yourself really matters. So a lot of the time I'm helping people to uncover the self critical thoughts that they have. And then the next step is to challenge those thoughts with something kinder.
This can be a real challenge for someone who's not used to speaking kindly to themselves. So today I'm giving you a small bike podcast with suggestions of how you can speak kindly to yourself.
Here are a few examples of the kinds of things that you can say to yourself. Imagine that you're talking to yourself as if you're a child that you absolutely adore and want to protect. And then from the part of you, no matter how small, that's a little bit wiser and more adult, say things like this to yourself.
I love you, sweetheart. You're safe with me. I've got you. I'm here. I'm listening. You're not alone, because I'm here. Even if I don't know what to do yet, I'm here for you. I know you're frightened, but what you're imagining is not what's gonna happen. Your intention is what really matters. Your needs matter.
You exist in this picture. We'll work out how to make this work for everyone. I can see that you're really making an effort and trying. And if you don't know the answer right now, you will do. We'll find out. Whatever you do, there is always an explanation. So, go easy on yourself. I'm working on this. I like you, and these are the reasons why.
You did this really well today. I'll stop there because hopefully you get the picture. For lots of people who come to see me, this is learning a whole new language and a completely different paradigm shift. Sometimes you have to work through the obstacles to being kind to yourself first, but there always comes a time when you need to learn this new language.
This is something we work with quite deeply on my course. My comfort eating recovery course is half full right now, so please be in touch soon if you want help with that. This is Shelley Treacher from my underground confidence. I'll see you on Wednesday.