Break-up binge HELP!
 

It's been three weeks since my boyfriend and I broke up and what started as a week long semi-binge is gaining momentum. Any ideas on how to get back on track and out of this emotional eating rut? I live in the middle-east, so all of the North American style distactions are not available to me. It is also a pretty high stress time with the end of the school year and reports to do.
Thanks

When I broke up with my boyfriend and felt myself slipping into that awful depression-binge rut I made myself get up off my sorry, wallowing-in-self-pity backside and go for a walk. I found that just being outside helped improve my mood dramatically and I no longer felt like eating. It also gave me time to think about things and sort through them with a clear mind. It was a massive stress relief and it also gave me time to go through my essays in my mind and go over structures etc.

It wasnt until later I learned walking and exercise actually IS recommended for depression as it really does help lol. Exercise also helps to suppress appetite...at least for a few hours afterward (for me at least).

However, if you cant do that or dont want too, can you take up something like beading or jewellry making? Or how about painting and/or writing? Anything that you can lose yourself in I find helps a lot. Beading I especially like because it keeps both my mind AND my hands busy...I cant be stuffing things in my mouth if my hands are busy holding wires, threads and beads lol.

Anyway, *hug* I hope some of this helps.

Livi

I am a stress/emotional overeater so I really understand. I agree with walking. It is exercise, it helps to clear the head and make you feel good, and it keeps you away from the food. ;)

I would also recommend if you can, that you do something for YOU every day to make yourself feel good. Do a simple beauty treatment on your hair or feet...go for that walk...paint your toenails...take a relaxing bath while reading a book-do something small every day to make yourself look beautiful. You deserve to treat yourself every day.

Take a step back and look at things from a different perspective. Do things for yourself-instead of doing things to hurt yourself-like the binging.

I had a question for you if you don't mind-have you always lived in the Middle East, or have you only been there for a little while?

Yep, exercise is the ticket I think. It may be hard to get out there and move, but exercise does lift the mood and will burn off those stress chemicals. So just get out and go for a walk if you can or just move some how. Hang in there. I know how hard it can be. My divorce threw me for a loop for quite awhile, but exercise really did help me cope.

Hi girls,
Thanks for the words of support. I am just finishing up report cards and trying to reason myself out of binging. Getting back to the self talk basics is helping. Convincing myself to treat myself, and my body, how I would treat someone else I cared about.
Aphil, I am an international teacher. I hop around the world-well mostly asia. I just moved to the middle east from Thailand this year. It is now 45 degrees celcius outside, so walking outside is unfortunately not an option for me so I hit the treadmill. I just about melted walking to the store outside the school gates for a diet coke just now!
Cheers