You may well wonder why we choose to eat when we are emotionally disturbed or do not feel comfortable facing certain emotions in our life? So did I. After some introspection, it came to light that one of the main reasons could just be… because our mind is trained to avoid whatever disturbs it. ‘Avoid, what you dislike’ seems to be an in-built command.We avoid people whom we do not like, avoid foods that do not go well with us, avoid wearing clothes that do not meet our approval, avoid places that we find not to our liking…..so too, with these emotions, generally those that remind us or re-create an ambience, psychically that is, of whatever we were not comfortable experiencing. We just avoid them.If you were to look at all those disturbing moments, the chief ingredient that was missing then was Love. And food has always been a substitute for love… something which we subconsciously ingrained ever since we learnt to suckle at our mother’s breast and discovered…..and then repeatedly experienced…. that warm, delightful nectar of nourishment.So here are the Bach Flower remedies that release us from the habitual patterns of eating, not for nourishment… but to quieten those emotions running amuck within: Crab Apple: Helps you when you feel that there is something not quite clean about yourself. You may need to wash hands often, find things dirty without any reason. You may find yourself ugly although others find you very attractive. All such feelings cause an inner stress, and in order to get rid of those feelings that cause you discomfort, you tend to hog even when you aren’t hungry. The remedy helps improve the metabolic function and also helps rid one of this mindless craving. Chestnut Bud: You keep making the same mistake viz. of eating again and again, without rhyme or reason. This remedy helps you when you keep repeating the same mistake. It serves as a guide to make you aware of the mistakes you keep repeating. Cherry Plum: Helps you when you binge on food, losing one’s self-control. The stress of things not going our way…..is one of the major causes for finding comfort in food…and over indulging in it. Gentian: When small setbacks discourage you…and opening the fridge seems a safe alternative. Snacking seems to provide some relief…though momentarily. It is a kind of addiction you least realize how you got hooked on. Gentian braces us up to face life and stay-away from the weak-willed approach of finding delight in food. Olive: Boredom can make us go for the chips. That’s when you feel the energy is really low. Though you eat as a way to get more energy, you do not eat the nutritional stuff which can pep your energies up, but resort to foods that are tangy and tingle your taste buds. So it is better to take Olive, whenever you feel the energies are deserting you…and go eat something nutritional instead. Heather: The feeling of loneliness is also a feeling that makes us uncomfortable. One naturally moves towards those cabinets in the kitchen stuffed with all the crispy, crunchy oily stuff or those eats loaded with cream and sugar. Here’s where Heather can clear the discomforting feeling and save you from adding more calories to your food.
