Feel Your Feelings. STOP BUFFERING

Every emotion has the potential to send me straight to the fridge. Before I learned this process I had no idea I could do something different. I tried willpower and that never worked because if the emotion was intense enough willpower went out the window. Now I realize that I have a choice between feeling my feelings or buffering. Buffering is anything we do to avoid feeling an emotion, especially those things that have a negative consequence. It is an amazing thing when we decide that instead of buffering we are going to be present with whatever emotion arises. Let that emotion come, recognize that it is just a vibration in our body, then let it pass.

So often we are numb to what is happening in our bodies and we are buffering without even realizing we are avoiding or escaping something. Consider when you are bored. How quickly do you look for something to eat or drink or maybe get a social media click fix? Being bored could be a time that we learn something or connect with someone but we don't let ourselves feel it long enough to take positive action.

This is something that has become a habit. It is a habit that can and will be broken if you decide to change the way you see it. If you show up for yourself and do the work you will buffer less and less. The key is tuning in and paying attention to the fact that you are doing it.

Practical Tip: Every time you start to put food into your mouth check in. Ask yourself if you are buffering and if the answer is yes then figure out what feeling you are buffering from and
be willing to be with the feeling. The urge to eat will pass and you will have gotten a step closer to rewiring your brain.