Eating too much junk food

Hello, I’m looking for some help with a model please, thanks

I started with my action line…
A: i eat lots of junk food
F before I eat lots of junk food: overwhelmed, things getting too much so I’ve shut down, tired, zoned out, head hurts.
R after eating junk food: I feel lethargic, tummy bloated, no energy, don’t do anything – just lie on sofa, watch TV, feel rubbish, feel sick as I’ve eaten too much.
T before I eat junk food: I don’t want to be feeling like this – where is food that i can quickly eats lots of.

Not sure what my ‘C’ line would be?
I’ve had this pattern of eating for 20 years so just trying to work out where it’s coming from! Thanks so much

 

Answer:

It’s easier to fill in your model when you use a specific situation, so you can simply pick the last time you ate lots of junk food. What was happening that brought up the rest of your model? Even if this has been a pattern, models are a snapshot of a moment that we can use to find awareness.

C: I notice sensations in my body-Can you describe what it feels like? Where is it? Is it light or heavy, fast or slow, hot or cold?

T: I don’t want to be feeling like this

F: overwhelmed

A: I eat lots of junk food (can you get specific here? list what you ate.), lethargic, tummy bloated, no energy, don’t do anything, just lie on sofa, watch TV, feel rubbish, feel sick as I’ve eaten too much. What are you not doing when you are overwhelmed?

R: I don’t like how I feel

Then you likely judge yourself for what you’ve eaten and the cycle starts all over again. There are two parts to this pattern-one is that your body will crave the dopamine hit and offer eating junk food as an easy solution to your emotions. This is your body doing what it’s evolved to do. We can have compassion for that and also want to not answer every urge.

The other part is resisting and avoiding your emotions. We call this buffering. When your brain notices an emotion it doesn’t like, it wants to eat it away. It has worked all these years. What we need to do is interupt this model and just allow the urge to be there and allow the feelings to be there. Episode 42 of the podcast Being with your Emotions is a great one to listen to. Episode 65 on Radical Self Acceptance is another one to help you on this journey.  See what comes up as you take another look and bring your models back to AAC.