When You are Emotionally “Overfed”

A beautiful buffet of food, delicious after delicious selection.

All to which you feel like you just can’t say no to.

Or you’ve waited so long to eat that you can’t seem to eat enough fast enough to tame the hunger inside.

Or when you just love the taste of that one dish so much, you find yourself getting seconds…even if you are full.

These are just some of the situations that lead us to overeating.

We’ve all experienced it. I’ve experienced it. My clients come to me looking for answers around it.

Sometimes the experience ends in guilt. Other times a sense of satisfaction or pleasure.

But no matter what the emotional sensation is, physically we feel an uncomfortably full feeling.

Too much of anything never feels too sweet.

Your energy drains and your gusto for taking on the day wanes.

A food hangover sets in and even if it was the best meal ever, we long for a fresh start the next day where we can feel lighter on our toes.

My mentor Marc David often states that it’s the dose, not the substance, that makes it toxic.

And this is true for any food…and any other kind of nourishment we take in.

Work, relationships, creative adventures, travel…these are just some of the foods that also nourish our lives.

And just like the dessert you had one too many bites of, we can over-fill our cup on these too. In particularly, we can becoming emotionally too full, emotionally overfed.

I was having a week like this last week…to be honest, I’m still kinda “detoxing” from it.

After returning from a beautiful week in Boulder with my mentor Marc David for the 2nd leg of my Eating Psychology Teacher Training, I had this nagging feeling like I hadn’t quite landed yet.

Emotionally, I was very, very full. Lots had been brought to the surface while I was there that quite frankly was brewing right before I left.

Then there was the deep work that is required any time you are learning a new skill set and are taking your work to the next level.

To add flame to the fire, I think I had no less than 5 deeply uncomfortable and emotional conversations with women I am close to in my life.

Literally everyday…one and then another.

I was left kinda spinning….I couldn’t help thinking why is SO much happening to me right now?

Can’t I have one easy day here?

My heart was feeling so raw.

And then my mind went to all the work I had to get to, even though my emotional body was saying “enough already.”

I don’t know if you can relate to any of this but I felt incredibly over-flooded and overstuffed.

And Uncomfortable. Highly Uncomfortable.

Emotionally speaking, I felt overfed.

I wanted to be able to sit at my computer and create beautiful words for you, work on projects that needed my attention, but the tears kept stinging my eyes.

Overstuffed, I couldn’t create. Deadlines looming, but I could. Not. Do. It.

It was one of those weeks where wise words from a friend couldn’t quite soothe me. Instinctively I knew the answer had to come from me on how to handle this emotional food coma.

So I kept asking for insight.

Literally, it came to me in that split second between being asleep and entering the waking world…the insight was “You can’t put out anymore until you digest what’s there. Don’t put any more in. Don’t put anything out. Let it settle.”

Whoa…

When words and insights come to me like this, I listen. And in my gut, I knew it was right.

So I committed to letting myself digest what I was feeling. I decided to really just be in my process, in my feelings. Sadness, anger, disappointment, confusion….all brewing inside me. But I was committed to not stuffing the feelings down, dismissing them, or numbing them with stimuli.

I spent time alone. I sat by the ocean. I took long walks. I wrote. I read beautiful words. I didn’t add more too digest..which meant not taking on anymore than I already had. And though extremely uncomfortable, I had those honest, hard to manage conversations, even though a big part of me wanted to discount my feelings and swallow them. Uncomfortable but I committed to be with my process.

It was in the being, not the doing or adding or numbing, that I began to digest what was going on for me…and I started to feel lighter again. In truth, I’m still feeling a bit too emotionally full for my liking but the important thing is that I’m honoring that, which gives me my best chance to move through it.

The truth is, it’s not always easy to be with uncomfortability, to admit what your are feeling, to honor yourself when emotionally you are feeling too full.

But it is only when we are able to do that, become aware, curious and compassionate for ourselves and our emotions, that we can digest the experience and then see what the next action must be.

Here’s the bottom line: Be with your process. When things are painful or uncomfortable, the mind wants to get out of it as soon as possible. Numb out, push down, disconnect…anything to relieve what feels painful. But I encourage you to feel into it. Cry if you need to. Locate the feeling, the sensation of it in your body. Stay open and curious about it. Do not run. There are riches there to be found and a deeper understanding will emerge.

Like any rich meal, emotions can take time to digest. Take the time you need to keep what nourishes you from them and then be present enough to let what no longer serves you to be released.

Sometimes the best emotional nourishment comes from simply honoring where you are and what you feel.

Sending you love…and let me know your thoughts!

P.S. Make sure you don’t miss my interview tomorrow, Tuesday August 27th at Noon PST for Medicine Woman Sessions….I’m going to be revealing my inner medicine that not only helped me release weight and constant body hate, but also has empowered me to make life changing decisions.

Even if you can’t attend live, you can catch the replay.

Sign up by going HERE.

xoxo and thanks for your support!
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