Conscious and Subconscious Clutter
Understanding the conscious and subconscious mind could be the very key to conquering your eating disorder as well as other issues. My life didn't improve until I searched for the memories and beliefs surrounding my anger problem and BDD (body dysmorphic disorder), so allow me to explain!
The conscious or logical mind enables us to think rationally, whereas the subconscious mind harbors our memories, beliefs, fears and traumas. The conscious mind is dominant when we're awake, and the subconscious is most dominant when we're in a meditative or relaxed state, before and after sleeping and during sleep. Have you ever heard of a really bizarre phobia and asked yourself, what's so scary about that? Well, seeing as how the subconscious mind is the creator of our dreams, which of course can be very strange, it's no surprise that the subconscious mind will accept fear-based beliefs that don't logically make sense.
A lot of people who aren't familiar with eating disorders wonder where the intense fear of food comes from. To the conscious mind, food is just food, and it can't do anything unless you enable it to, but the subconscious mind may perceive food very differently. This also applies to beliefs concerning weight and appearance. Unfortunately, this is why so many people relapse during or after their recovery (be it the recovery from eating disorders or some other disorder or addiction). What's harming the person is taken away, but the subconscious beliefs or traumas aren't always addressed.
The subconscious mind isn't trying to hurt us or make our lives miserable. It's actually just trying to protect us from things that hurt or scare us, even if the logical mind doesn't find those things frightening. Also, many of us have fears and anxieties without knowing where they came from because the core memory/belief/trauma was forgotten or repressed (in other words, just pushed back into the subconscious mind).
In order to conquer disorders and addictions, we first have to find the core memory, belief or trauma surrounding them. Then we have to overcome the fear and beliefs associated with it. To put it simply, find the cause of the disorder and how it's effecting you mentally.
The conscious or logical mind enables us to think rationally, whereas the subconscious mind harbors our memories, beliefs, fears and traumas. The conscious mind is dominant when we're awake, and the subconscious is most dominant when we're in a meditative or relaxed state, before and after sleeping and during sleep. Have you ever heard of a really bizarre phobia and asked yourself, what's so scary about that? Well, seeing as how the subconscious mind is the creator of our dreams, which of course can be very strange, it's no surprise that the subconscious mind will accept fear-based beliefs that don't logically make sense.
A lot of people who aren't familiar with eating disorders wonder where the intense fear of food comes from. To the conscious mind, food is just food, and it can't do anything unless you enable it to, but the subconscious mind may perceive food very differently. This also applies to beliefs concerning weight and appearance. Unfortunately, this is why so many people relapse during or after their recovery (be it the recovery from eating disorders or some other disorder or addiction). What's harming the person is taken away, but the subconscious beliefs or traumas aren't always addressed.
The subconscious mind isn't trying to hurt us or make our lives miserable. It's actually just trying to protect us from things that hurt or scare us, even if the logical mind doesn't find those things frightening. Also, many of us have fears and anxieties without knowing where they came from because the core memory/belief/trauma was forgotten or repressed (in other words, just pushed back into the subconscious mind).
In order to conquer disorders and addictions, we first have to find the core memory, belief or trauma surrounding them. Then we have to overcome the fear and beliefs associated with it. To put it simply, find the cause of the disorder and how it's effecting you mentally.
Negative Events and the Subconscious Mind
Here's an example using the Emetophobia (fear of vomit) that I had. Before I knew the cause of this phobia, I was very aware of it's effect on me. I would feel an intense fear and urge to run away when ever someone would throw up. I didn't know where this phobia derived from until I remembered that when I was little, my brother would get car sick when my family and I went on vacations. At first this would only make me feel uncomfortable, but over time my reactions became worse as I would cry and refuse to sit next to him. This was the cause of the phobia, and the effect was fear and needing to escape when someone became sick. Quick tip: A lot, but not all, of emotional traumas and disorders can stem from things that happened during childhood.
Here's one last example. Let's say that a girl was bullied on a daily basis for her appearance, so she develops an eating disorder due to a belief that losing weight is the only way people will accept and love her. She becomes intensely afraid of food and weight gain as a result. The bullying was the cause of the eating disorder and the lack of self-worth and food/weight fears was the effect. In order for this girl to recover, she needs to address the emotions and beliefs surrounding the eating disorder and her past with bullying.
It's cause and effect. Observe your repetitive emotions and behaviors and see how they link up to areas of your past and present.
Here's one last example. Let's say that a girl was bullied on a daily basis for her appearance, so she develops an eating disorder due to a belief that losing weight is the only way people will accept and love her. She becomes intensely afraid of food and weight gain as a result. The bullying was the cause of the eating disorder and the lack of self-worth and food/weight fears was the effect. In order for this girl to recover, she needs to address the emotions and beliefs surrounding the eating disorder and her past with bullying.
It's cause and effect. Observe your repetitive emotions and behaviors and see how they link up to areas of your past and present.
Changing Conscious and Subconscious Beliefs
I can say, hey, conquering your eating disorder is as simple as changing the beliefs in your subconscious mind! But it's not always that easy— I mean, unless you believe that it could be. As I said above, you have to find the core belief, memory, or trauma surrounding the disorder, then acknowledge the fears and behaviors associated with it. You can either choose to find the cause or effects first, your choice. But since Anorexia can stem from a variety of different things, I'm only going to address some of the common fears and beliefs and how you can change them.
TIP: A big part of changing subconscious beliefs is through repetition (either repetitive actions or affirmations), images, thoughts and feelings. Even though it can take the subconscious mind as little as a day to cling onto a memory or trauma, it can take a bit longer to reverse beliefs. It also helps to avoid entertaining or validating the beliefs by acting on them. The more you act on the beliefs, the more you confirm to your subconscious that those beliefs are still relevant and real to you, in spite of no longer wanting them. You might receive a lot of backlash from your mind but try not to worry or let that deter you from your recovery. If you've been telling yourself something over and over for a prolonged amount of time, it's difficult for your mind to accept something new at first. Over time, it will adapt to and accept what you're trying to teach it. It just takes time. This may be hard at first, but remind yourself that you are the master of your mind and at the end of the day, and what you say goes.
TIP: A big part of changing subconscious beliefs is through repetition (either repetitive actions or affirmations), images, thoughts and feelings. Even though it can take the subconscious mind as little as a day to cling onto a memory or trauma, it can take a bit longer to reverse beliefs. It also helps to avoid entertaining or validating the beliefs by acting on them. The more you act on the beliefs, the more you confirm to your subconscious that those beliefs are still relevant and real to you, in spite of no longer wanting them. You might receive a lot of backlash from your mind but try not to worry or let that deter you from your recovery. If you've been telling yourself something over and over for a prolonged amount of time, it's difficult for your mind to accept something new at first. Over time, it will adapt to and accept what you're trying to teach it. It just takes time. This may be hard at first, but remind yourself that you are the master of your mind and at the end of the day, and what you say goes.
Fear of FoodIf food encourages feelings of fear and anxiety, it's because of what your subconscious mind has been taught to believe. In an effort to protect you, your subconscious mind provides a strong feeling of fear and resistance toward food. Our logical mind knows how important food is to our survival, but that won't stop the subconscious mind from instilling fear within you if it has negative beliefs about food. To reverse this belief, try the techniques below. It may be difficult at first, but don't worry too much and take it slow if you have to. In order to show your subconscious that you're serious about changing this belief, try not to do these things halfheartedly. The point here is to begin to associate food with good things and feelings rather than negative consequences and emotions.
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Fear of the ScaleEven though I've never had an eating disorder, I'm not unfamiliar with the anxiety of stepping on a scale. So many of us have this fear because of the amount of focus and importance we put on how much we weigh. Unfortunately, we leave it up to the scale to determine our mood for the day and our self-worth. How can you live life when your happiness depends and self-esteem depends on a number? To reverse this belief:
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Fear of Weight GainThe fear of gaining weight or the belief that being healthy is bad is simply subconscious. It can also be exhausting considering how our weight naturally fluctuates everyday. It derives from praising a low weight opposed to a healthy one. Gaining weight is of course one of the aspects of recovery if you're underweight, and to make things easier for yourself, it's important to release the negative beliefs surrounding it.
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The main idea here is to fill your mind with positive thoughts in order to overwhelm the negative. Overall, try not to focus on weight in general. Focus on honoring your body, happiness and self-love. :)