Do You Scream for Ice Cream?

Sometimes our food cravings can make us feel like we're a kid again. It's like there's the mature rational adult self, and this other part that feels like a screaming 5 year old. Can you relate?

When we have these cravings, it's often clear we don't need the ice cream, but there's a part of us that WANTS IT RIGHT NOW!

If you've ever felt this way, you're not alone, believe me on this one. And if you've felt this way once, you've probably felt it a lot in your life, and more intensely with stress. That's because this is a habit, a pattern that has  been created neurologically, and it's sometimes hard to break. If you haven’t been able to break it, be kind to yourself, it’s not easy, and if you could have done it, by yourself you would have.

So, when you face stress, anxiety, upset, boredom or some other difficulty, this pattern of craving can get triggered, and it can be intense.

What is this Food Craving About?

One way of thinking about it is this...it's a survival mechanism, nothing more. It's a quick way to help ourselves feel better and deal with the stress in the moment. Another way of thinking about it is that it's the best way we've known so far to deal with the stress at hand. I'ts like an old program, a little outdated, but it works sometimes. The problem is, that this habit is old, it's outdated, it's not really in line with with our current adult ways of being. We can't always run to get ice cream, we may not want or need the fat and sugar, and the worst part of the whole pattern, is that it doesn't solve our original problem of dealing with stress.

• Insights May Come: These insights are unique to you and usually help you deal with stress differently, and in a better way. It's usually something simple, but in the heat of a food craving, it's hard to see these other options, it's all too intense.
   
• Slowing Down: Everything seems to slow down, the intensity fades, quiet returns.
   
• Choice Returns: Once the craving is relieved, you have the option to truly enjoy ice cream without getting out of control, without compulsion. Instead, you have the choice to eat with an experience of peace, pleasure and confidence. You can also choose to avoid eating ice cream, but it will be your choice, and it will be a peaceful choice.  If you do eat some ice cream, you won't have a 'food hangover' because you'll enjoy smaller amounts and it won't trigger more stress or guilt.