Hummingbird_Healing_Center

Delicious Discovery

I stood in the shower, allowing the hot water to run over my head and down my back and thought how “delicious” it felt. The apricot-scented soap smelled “yummy” to me and that’s when I realized that I was using food terms to describe enjoyable feelings. And, have you ever noticed that many terms of endearment are actually food related? My favorite has been “honey” or “sweetie” and I’ve heard many “honey buns” and “sweetie pies” over the years. Although I’ve never called anyone “cookie” I know I’ve been tempted to want to “gobble up” some baby’s cute little toes – much to their squeals of delight!

So okay. Where does that fit in to an addict’s life. Addiction? How did we get from food language to addiction? Addiction is an insidious disease that tricks you into believing you do not have a disease. Food is just my “drug of choice” and is just as damaging as other addictive diseases. It is more common and more accepted by society, although societal norms are not too kind to the “fatties” out there.

One can smoke and possibly hide the fact if one can cover up the lingering tobacco smell. One can drink to oblivion at home and if functioning by morning, no one is the wiser. One can do any kind of street or designer drug and still “get away with it.” One can eat to excess, binge and purge, etc. and very few would understand this is going on, but you can’t hide excess weight.

I am a food addict. I love food, the aromas, the tastes, the textures, the feelings of comfort they have given me. No, I am not a gourmet. I am a gourmand, by definition. I used to laugh and say “I’ll eat anything that doesn’t eat me first.” I never gorged, binged, or purged… but oh, how I sought out those sugary, buttery, flour-laden treats. If I ate one bite, I’d have to have another. I never had enough. There were NEVER enough cookies, or brownies, or graham crackers. And heaven forbid if the supply of chocolate had to be shared, or if there weren’t enough donuts left over for me. Yes, I am and always will be a food addict – prayerfully recovering, one day at a time.

posted by Shirley @ Wednesday, July 13, 2011