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Expert Q&A

	By Eve Eliot Eating Disorder Expert

If one is addicted to certain foods, like refined products, sugar, etc. and decides to become abstinent instead of eating a little bit of those foods because they will trigger compulsive overeating, do you recommend to become abstinent or to try to find out what is causing the compulsive behavior and the addiction and work on that first? Will the addiction disappear after working on the cause, if there is one?

There is always a "cause" for compulsive behavior, and finding out its source is not, in itself, going to make the addictive behavior disappear. The achievement of insight, while an admirable and fascinating endeavor, is something that must be undertaken simultaneously with removing the offending substance or triggers. This is because addictions have a physiological basis.

You cannot stop sneezing just because you found out that pollen gets stuck in your nasal passages. You have to get away from the pollen. There is a physiological factor involved, and it cannot be overlooked.

I can hear that you would rather not embark on the abstinence project right now. So it would be a good idea for you to investigate underlying causes until you feel ready to explore what abstinence might feel like.

There are many positive aspects to abstinence from a behavior the consequences of which displease you but that you feel compelled to repeat. One outstanding positive aspect of abstinence is the reward of feeling good about yourself, not to mention the positive aspect of walking around in a body you feel comfortable in. Focus on those things rather than on the grief and loss associated with the "giving up" of things.

Recovery from any compulsion is always interesting, because it forces you to "stalk" yourself ? your feelings, your behavior, your beliefs. I would encourage you to focus on the "interesting" parts and minimize your focus on the discomfort you believe will be there. The presumed discomfort lasts a much shorter time than the long-term positive outcome! Take a look at the brilliant book, The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chodron for more about this and for tender compassion.

You are already good. You will not be "improved" by stopping your compulsive eating. You may be happier, but you will not be a better person. You are already a good person. We are all in bondage to something. The trick is to get compelled by things that make you happy rather than by things that do not."

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