Friday, June 19, 2009

Compulsive spending can be a concern for those struggling with eating disorders....

Article by: Angela R. Wurtzel, MA, MFT, CEDS

www.angelawurtzelmft.com

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread” ~ George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara

Have you ever found yourself in a shopping mall, searching, with a slightly pounding heart, for something? Something to wear tonight, tomorrow, or for that next important meeting. Or, is it something yet to be thought of, but you know you need something, or at least feel like you need something. Maybe you just want something new, what is the difference, right? You are just going to get it and then whatever is really going on will go away, maybe not even something tragic or problematic, but your mind and emotional system out of habit urges you to go shopping and get something that will, in turn, whether you know it or not, assist you in also getting rid of something.

Or, maybe you have specific rules about shopping for food? Do you buy a certain brand of cereal? Are you unaware of how much money you spend each month on groceries? Have you ever thought that how you shop for food may be indicative of a more serious process of feeding yourself? Probably not, because in the moment, grocery shopping in your particular way actually makes you feel safe, secure, and in your own skin, so to speak. Going outside of these boundaries feels dangerous, unknown, possibly too anxiety provoking to even allow yourself to know to or to feel because the outcome could be dismal. To you, this makes perfect sense, you have found a system to which you can live and regulate your feelings. To anyone else, you are afraid that this unique and well thought out system would sound crazy. It is not. It is how you have adapted and taught yourself to feed yourself. On the other hand, there may be other paths that you have not trespassed that could be more life affirming and less self destructive....Finish Reading Article

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