food as a treatment

I was reading a story about the ex-tennis star, Monica Seles, and her battle with weight after her horrific stabbing that occurred during a tournament. As you may remember, Ms. Seles was a tennis phenom, and at a very young age was one of the best, replacing Steffi Graf as the premiere women's tennis player. In the early 80s, after a match, a crazed fan of Ms. Graf rushed the court and stabbed Ms. Seles in the back, interrupting her brilliant career.

During her physical rehabilitation, she turned to binge eating as a source of "treating" her depression from the events. The weight gain, in turn , caused even more depresssion.

This is a viscious cycle that even non-celebrities endure...turning to food during times of depression, anxiety, sadness or even happiness. We often will use food as a "treatment" for these issues. You do not need a prescription for it, food is relatively cheap, it is legal and you can do it without anyone seeing you. However, the self-loathing that occurs after these cycles further compounds the mood disorder which started the cycle in the firts place.

Take a step back and think about whether you reach for food as a "medicine" at times, and if you do, consider visiting with your physician to see if your mood issues may be addressed in less deleterious ways.