Nutritional Neurosis

I heard this phrase for the first time this summer, and I think it sums up what I’m about to say! Health conscious individuals are often associated with radical diets and ideas about food that seem very limiting and strange to those who aren’t. So afraid to fall off of their plan, or screwing things up that they stick to their foods and regimes so strictly that they actually seem neurotic. Carrying around supplement bottles, substituting food items in restaurants, always asking for ingredient lists, constantly turning down “bad” foods, preaching to others about their particular diet, and then also not enjoying what they’re eating and just eating because they’re neurotic!!

If this sounds like you, don’t worry - I’ve been there. Where a healing transition is important, doing things harmoniously and slowly is important. Becoming neurotic about food isn’t that healing at all. It’s becoming fearful of food, and not having faith. It’s practising instability and obsessing, all making you mentally and spiritually exhausted and ill. Finding the balance between a healthy transition and your current routine is often the most balancing and the path of least resistance - which usually yields the most enduring results.

I mentioned it once already and I’ll mention it again, the West likes to think that if something is good, more must be better, and if something is bad, none too must be best. This is not necessarily true! Imbalance is the problem, and eating imbalanced one way or another will create more imbalances, which isn’t balancing at all!

To transition harmoniously, remember these few points:
Go slow! Don’t drop your routine for a new diet overnight, often the sudden change is debilitating and can do a lot of damage.
Don’t be extreme. Try introducing or exiting foods gradually, and don’t feel that completely avoiding a food is the answer. If you start to feel better without a food, slowly continue to avoid it. If you quit things cold turkey, cravings for other foods may arise and create a separate destructive cycle.

Don’t use blind faith. Test things out and experiment. Does a food feel good for you? Don’t eat or not eat something because someone told you or you read in a book, find out for yourself by increasing your eating awareness practices! Use your food intuition! Remember that you are different than everyone else! What works for you may ruin someone else, so keep your healing stories to yourself! Don’t be superior! Everyone has their healing journey which different to everyone

Just remember that you are deeply connected to your food, on many levels. Disconnecting yourself from your food for health reasons can have negative effects. Food should be enjoyed and nourishing on all levels, let it remain a manifestation of your self-love by enjoying it each meal, without guilt, fear, embarrassment or any fearful feelings. Just remain guided about your choices and trust that what your body is asking for is the right thing. The body is like a cruise liner, make a small change at the wheel - and with time the ship will be in a whole new direction! Fight with the wheel to change directions, and you’ll flip your ship over and sink! Just take it easy and enjoy the ride!