Abstinence for Health + Sabotage

[Julie MannParticipant]

Hi Gillian,
In webinar 6 you speak about how you are abstinent with gluten because of the health consequences, and you mention those with peanut allergies who are abstinent so that they don’t die (good reason!).

I am easily abstinent with many substances for health reasons (sugar, flour, dairy, etc.) and yet there are two food items that cause me equal and perhaps more severe consequences that I still relapse with.

I then spend the next few days sick to my stomach, with severe digestive problems, depression, skin reactions, etc.
I cannot understand why I am choosing to eat them and why my addictive desire for them overpowers me. The thoughts I often think before eating them are, “I’ll deal with it tomorrow, I’ll just have a few, It won’t be that bad…” However, these are ALL lies, and I’m never able to deal with it, have a few, and it’s always worse than I can imagine.

I want to have the same peace, ease and detachment with these items as I do with the ones I’ve been able to give up.
I want to feel my best, I want to be free of this pattern.
Your suggestions are most welcome.
Thank you!!

[GillianModerator]

Julie, I can talk more about this on Sunday in the Q&A webinar, but I do want to ask, when you’re thinking, “I’ll deal with it tomorrow, I’ll just have a few, It won’t be that bad…” are you about to buy them in the shop or are these items already in your home or what?

[Julie MannParticipant]

I have those thoughts before, as I’m walking to the shop, on line, in the shop. They generally don’t make it to my home because I always eat them as I’m commuting home – which is also really horrible, I feel so shameful about that.

[GillianModerator]

What’s going to make the difference, Julie, is not to let your limbic brain (addictive desire) have the last word.

As you walk to the shop to buy these things, notice any feeling or thought, even the slightest fleeting idea, that this may not end well. When you have those thoughts about it not ending well, that is your cue to take a stand. If you don’t do that, you’ll get the same old result.

That is your choice right there; to pay attention to the concerns about what you’re about to do – or to avoid taking a stand and default to your addictive thinking.

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