Q&A 35 – What should I do with intrusive thoughts about food?

Intrusive thoughts can seem like a problem. Just by their nature, they can seem scary and as though they are a sign of something that is wrong with us. But what if this isn’t true? And what if dealing with them is simply a matter of understanding their nature?You can listen above, on your favorite podcast app, or watch on YouTube. Notes, links, resources and a full transcript are below. Show Notes* What intrusive thoughts can look like * The feelings that can come with intrusive thoughts * How our thoughts are NOT a reflection of our mental health * How we don’t need to do anything about any kind of thoughtResources Mentioned in this Episode* Stay informed about receiving an advanced copy of my next book by signing up for my newsletter at AlexandraAmor.com/insightTranscript of episodeHello explorers and welcome to Q&A episode 35 of Unbroken. I’m Alexandra Amor.Today our question is how do I deal with intrusive thoughts about food? I’ll get to answering that question in just a moment. But first, a little public service announcement. If you’re listening to this around the time it goes out, which will be the middle of October, I can’t remember the date exactly, always on a Monday. If you’re listening to that around that time, and you would like to receive an advanced copy before anybody else gets it of the new book that I’ve got coming out about food and resolving our relationship with an unwanted overeating habit, make sure that you’re subscribed to my newsletter. You can do that at AlexandraAmor.com/insight. You’ll receive a notice from me when I’m going to send out requests and offers for anyone who would like an advanced copy of the book. If you’re already subscribed, then there’s nothing you need to do, you will receive that notice as well. But if you’re not subscribed, yet, I thought I’d mention it. And so you can sign up and you’ll receive as a bonus, perhaps, the little video course that I’ve put together called how to hack your thinking and resolve unwanted habits. That’s five videos that you receive. And it’s all self-paced, you can watch it at your own speed. And hopefully that will help you well, as you’re exploring this understanding as it relates to resolving and overeating habit. So there we go. That’s the public service announcement. Now, let’s get back to the question. So how should I deal with intrusive thoughts about food? This popped into my head the other day, because I used to have this recurring intrusive thought, and it went like this. I’ll give you this personal example. Very often if I was dishing out some food, and especially if it was something that I really liked anything to do with potatoes, particularly, or anything to do with sugar, the thought would come to me, “There’s never enough.”It would be a thought and a feeling at the same time. A very visceral sense, and almost like a little bit of panic. So whatever was there in front of me on my plate, or that I was dishing out, there was just this feeling that there was never enough that there could never be enough. And I think that feeling had two edges. There were two edges to that sword. One was about the amount of food, that it just it felt like it wasn’t going to satisfy me or make me feel better, whatever it was. And then the other edge to that feeling that I felt was a bit of panic about the feeling itself. Like if I’m feeling that,