***One Empowering Action To End Compulsive Overeating

Many people who turn to food also cover up an important tugging in their spirit. They become convinced that there is nothing really wrong - just this thing with the food. If only your body was thinner, then somehow everything else would be joyous and wonderful.

Maybe you have tried various diets and weight loss programs. In the short-term, you may have even achieved success. However, that success is often temporary and you somehow regain the unwanted pounds. On the other hand, you may find yourself stuck in a place of numbed out nothingness, not knowing any other way to take care of yourself. Either way, you end up hopeless, angry, or filled with self-loathing at your body and your inability to get a grip on this food and weight issue.

If you struggle with repeated weight loss and weight gain, binge eating, compulsive overeating, or bulimia, your weight conce
s reach far deeper than simply eating because you like food. Going on one more diet is not the answer you are looking for. Instead of waiting until Monday morning to start your next diet, consider taking up the practice of jou
al writing right now.

Writing in a jou
al is something you can do in this very moment. It doesn't matter if you are about to eat, if you have already engaged in your eating and coping strategy, or even if you have blown your diet. Writing in a jou
al is an opportunity for you to look a bit deeper beneath the food issue, to become curious and interested in why and when you eat.

Jou
al writing is simply the practice of regularly connecting with your thoughts, feelings, frustrations, and real life experiences. It is a valuable and powerful means for personal growth and self-discovery. Reflecting on your experiences, instead of beating yourself up, allow you to express and explore your innermost thoughts, feelings, ideas and conce
s. Writing can allow you to express yourself and be honest in a way that may be difficult under other circumstances. The practice of jou
al writing can allow you a safe place to get in touch with parts of yourself normally hidden from view.

Below are just six powerful benefits you gain when you decide to write down, explore, and become curious about your experiences:

1. A jou
al provides a safe avenue for anger.
Sometimes we find ourselves trapped in compulsive goodness, unable to speak what is real. We may encounter situations in which we have difficulty standing up for ourselves and respecting our inner truths and feelings. We may act compulsively nice because we are unskilled at the practice of expressing effective, appropriate anger. A jou
al gives you a place to vent. Once the venting is complete, you can explore new possibilities for self-growth, worthiness, and self-expression.

2. A jou
al relieves stress.
A personal jou
al is a marvellous tool for releasing emotions stuck in your body. In terms of spiritual growth, a jou
al can be a place where you explore your doubts, where you confront your perceived character defects, or where you address resentments. A jou
al can help quiet a racing, out of control mind. Writing has the power to put things into perspective. Writing also allows movement to occur as you give expression to what is bothering you. It can help keep emotions in motion. This process can release anxiety, soothe, and sometimes even prevent a major binge. Instead of immediately suppressing your emotions with food, try sitting down first and expressing what is being felt at the moment: "I feel . . .", "I need . . .", I want . . ."

3. A jou
al affirms the reality of your life.
Learning to have compassion for self, without judgement, is a difficult task to undertake. Jou
aling aids in the jou
ey toward loving self as it allows us the courage to acknowledge who you are, where you have been, and where you are going. Your jou
ey involves looking into the shadowy secrets deep within. It is about facing inner feelings about who you are. It means slowly letting go of blame, and no longer agreeing to play victim. Writing allows an avenue to see self in a different way. You can confront the often less than empowering thoughts you hold about your self. You can "see" that your self-critical thoughts are not motivating . . . will not create peace or happiness you seek . . . and will not go away by themselves. Writing about your self and your life experiences adds purpose, power, and new direction.

4. A jou
al will help recover a lost sense of identity.
Using food or additions to cope with life separates you from yourself. Exploring with pen and paper allows a process to unfold of reconnecting with hidden aspects of your self. It helps you speak out, allowing ideas to become tangible words. It allows vague concepts to take shape in the safety of a jou
al. Writing is a power tool that allows what is often locked away inside to have access into the world. It allows you to feel into your physical body and connect with intuition, creativity, and imagination. Writing allows the time to find precisely the right words or the most powerful images to express your self. It takes fuzzy or confusing images and brings them into sharp focus.

5. A jou
al will clarify dreams.
For many of us, what is missing is a relationship with ourselves. We need time to get to know ourselves, time to nurture our spirits, and time to create. If you take the time to write a few thoughts each day, you ideas about what is important and meaningful will become much clearer. You will begin to discover what you really want in life.

6. Writing Is A Tool for Self-GrowthnJou
al writing by itself is not the final, or only, answer to solve your eating issues. It is one tool, one powerful tool, which you add into your personal toolbox of new coping strategies. It will have major positive consequences for your life over the long-term. Right now, it is okay if you write, and then still feel the need to use food to cope. You are not writing instead of eating. Instead, you are writing so that you can see your situation from a more compassionate perspective and so that you can open up important new avenues of self-expression.

Fun and Rewarding Jou
al Ideas!
If you are used to keeping your inner most ideas and feelings locked up inside, then you may face intense resistance to writing. I, too, remember finding my courage to buy my first jou
al only to stare at the white page unable to write down a single word. It didn't seem like I had anything to write. I felt as blank as the page. Really, it is not that you don't have anything important to say, it is just that you made a decision a long time ago to keep quiet. Maybe it felt safer to hide your truth, or perhaps swallow your truth. What matters most now is that you want to make a different decision.

There is no right way or wrong way to write a jou
al. It doesn't have to be neat. It doesn't have to be nice. It doesn't have to be anything special or grand. Your jou
al is a tool that simply, but powerfully, helps you gain a new ability to express yourself and make new choices.

To help get you started, here are a few ideas to get your words rolling:

1. Start a jou
al in your daily organizer. At the end of each day, write one word to describe your day overall. Then jot down one word of how you want the next day to be. At the end of month, review the words you wrote and notice the impact your choices made on your life.

2. Write while you wait. Get a small jou
al to keep in your briefcase/purse. This can be a place to keep a success list, write down an inspiring affirmation, or write down a goal. Use it when you find yourself waiting in line, waiting at a long stop light, or waiting for an appointment to begin.

3. Ask others to write something in your pocket jou
al. Hand it over to your friend at lunch and say, "Could you write something in my jou
al?" Perhaps ask your significant other for some words. You may be surprised at the written words that come to support you, inspire you, and give you valuable information.

Positive NotesnAs I write and listen, I will come to know myself.

Writing leads me to my inner truth and love.

It is safe to open myself and explore my emotions, thoughts, and feelings on paper.nn