So we’ve gone through a lot of different obstacles I’ve faced in my life and you guys have connected with me which I love and to my surprise have dealt with a lot of the same issues! Thankfully I’m not crazy!😂
Anywho, this particular issue, I never knew was an issue until I looked backed and realized how terrible a cycle it was and I also have never discussed it with anyone. During any stressful time in my life and as you all know was a lot of the time, instead of discussing what was bothering me or dealing with it at all, I did two things: I ate and I got angry. Food and anger were the things that comforted me whenever I was hurting and I leaned on them hard! We discussed my weight issues in part three of Scars to Beauty Marks! but this was something that I did even before it was noticeable due to me gaining weight. I kept it hidden for a while but no one knew that I had an eating disorder during my teen years!
I remember the idea came to me when I watched this movie on Lifetime called “A Secret Between Friends!” it was about two friends who had an eating disorder – eating a bunch of crap and then making themselves throw it back up so they wouldn’t gain any weight! In the end, one of the girls told on her friend to try to save her. I figured this would be easy for me because I didn’t have friends really to keep a secret like that with, and of course in my teenage mind, I could control it where it wouldn’t be bad on me or my health, so I thought this was a good plan for me!
Doritos, all things sweets, just bunches of friggin junk; an extra helping of this and an extra helping of that – and then I would go into the bathroom, turn on the faucet and puke my guts out so there was no evidence of what I had done. Thinking back on it now – it was really disgusting and sad but in the moment, I thought – a few minutes of gagging was worth not being fat! It was worth covering up so I could experience the comfort I felt when I ate the foods that tasted so good to me!
See people don’t realize but it’s true when it they say, food doesn’t judge – food understands!😂 You’ve had a rough day that turns into a rough year – if you are use to being an emotional eater then a cheeseburger, fries and a shake are going to make you feel so good…. until after you eat it because the pain doesn’t go away; it’s just on pause while you get your fix! The same thing goes for people who use alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. We all have something that we lean on to make us feel good when things go really bad but unless it’s Jesus, the satisfaction of it doesn’t last so you have to keep consuming more and more of it so it will last longer! See with Jesus… one good hit and it’ll last you all day… maybe even the rest of the week! The best part about Him is, there’s no guilt after you get you a taste either! You can get some everyday and it’s gets better each and every time! Most importantly, it makes you better each and every time!
So for me, food, that was what I fell back on as well as anger! If I had a bad day, somebody was going to have an even worse day because I was gonna find a reason to pop off and take my frustration out on them and anyone that was around by default! It’s so true when they say, hurt people hurt people! I can speak from personal experience: when you’ve been hurt and keep getting hurt over and over again, it’s a chain reaction because you take what someone has done to you out on someone else! The least little thing made me blow up. I held grudges. I fought. I cussed people out. I talked about them badly. I made them feel like their existing was an issue… why? Because to me, my existing was an issue and instead of having Self-Honesty, I did what I thought was the next best thing and that was make someone else question their life because then I’m not alone in how I’m thinking and feeling and there was a little bit of comfort there.
That’s why it’s so important for us to be in touch with our feelings and understand how to truly communicate them so that we engage in a healthy cycle. It never stops with one thing… if your mental health isn’t good then likely you’re not taking care of yourself physical or spiritually which will, if given the chance, weigh on your emotional health and before you know it, you’re just an unhealthy person! See my physical health was great at first – I was an athlete; always active and eating right but then my emotional state finally got so low that I stopped taking care of myself physically and that slowly but surely went south because I only made myself vomit after eating for so long; one day my brother caught me and I still don’t know to this day if he realizes what I was doing but him catching me, scared me and I pretty much stopped but I kept eating and the weight caught up to me making me sad and depressed; add on the fact that now I was drinking like a fish and completely neglected myself spiritually, I was just one unhealthy person!
My point is, it all truly does flow together: physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health! I feel the most important (obvi) is spiritual good health! Why? Because I feel like if your life is aligned spiritually then everything else will follow! There are times when that emotional eating tries to step back in but the Word is a reminder, “eat so much as is sufficient for thee!” Girl you better PRAY! Or when I don’t want to work out and be active and then “know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you!” The Word is a reminder but it’s up to us to obey it when it comes!
I am still not in the best shape that I could be in but I am getting there, I think! I am lot more aware of what I put in my body and how much! Sometimes I still don’t do as well as I should but I am working daily to get better at it! My advice to anyone that is using something to make themselves feel good or better about their situation…. Try Jesus! Acknowledge the problem. Give yourself a good dose of Self-Honesty and give Him a try!! It took years for me to get things on track but now that I have, even when I have slip-ups, it’s a much better feeling than I had when I wasn’t taking care of myself in all the ways possible! If you truly want to love you – start acknowledging the feelings you have and the cycle you use to work through them and if it’s anything like mine was – rather it’s food, drugs, alcohol, people – you’re not loving yourself enough – you can do better for you!! CHOOSE YOU!!!!!
With Beautiful Brokenness,
-Kiesh💕💕
Broken Beautifully! 