The Emotional Aspect of Going Raw - How did you deal with it?

[Strawberry Smoothie]

I haven't been 100% for more than a couple days at a time, and frankly, I'm scared. I've always used food to stuff down emotions that I'm afraid of dealing with.

Have many of you that have gone 100% experienced these strong emotions that you've had to contend with, and how did you do it? I'm afraid of the mental clarity that is sure to come with this lifestyle.

I look forward to hearing your experiences.

[ChaiLife]

I am still learning to deal with the emotions. There is certainly an emotional detox that goes along with the physical. It's a journey. I have given in to the emotions before and it's a terrible feeling to feel that loss of control. But every day, hour and minute is a new beginning.

Just take it one day at a time and see it for what it is: a learning experience with potential for growth. :)

[Shell]

Hi Strawberry Smoothie!
Only being a little over a month raw, I'm still finding that I have many issues to deal with. In the beginning, it was the aspect of never eating my favourite SAD foods again. Even though I know I'll never go back, and the way I eat now is the best possible way to eat, I still contend with those feelings. I know they will pass, and get less and less as time goes on.....in the grand scheme of things, one month is peanuts compared to forever! The emotional aspect of using food to comfort is also an issue of mine. I have gotten way better since going raw, but still at times find I'm just eating to eat, and not because I'm particularly hungry. Again, it's a process (which you'll hear often on this board, but is inherently true!), and I'm not forcing anything to happen, it's just happening on it's own. I'm trying to be as conscious as I can about emotional eating.....but a lifetime of practice takes a little more than a month to undo! I've also found that just by being a part of this community (meaning both Alissa's site and other raw food sites) has helped me in coping with my feelings, and helped me to understand the changes going on in both my mind, and my body. There are many knowledgeable people around here, and they are all more than happy to assist in your transition, and give you any advice you seek. But I'm telling you, if you can, try the 30 day challenge...it will change your life! Being 100% raw is very liberating, and feels fantastic...don't stress about things that loom ahead (mental clarity,etc.)....just take one day at a time, and enjoy the "process";) ! Good luck in your journey!

[EZ rider]

I think most people (if not all) have used food for emotional support, for example if your not feeling loved then shove a few more donuts in and you feel better. Parents start their kids learning to control emotions at an early age by giving them a bottle if their crying. Learning to use food as fuel is a challenge. Learning to eat the right foods in the right quantity and in response to being hungry is a healthy challenge for everybody.

[DavidZaneMason]

-By committing to some type of regular service work. Whether it's contributing to supporting other raw food folks on websites, lectures, or e-mail.......or by volunteering for local civic organizations (like Chamber of Commerce groups, volunteering at nursing homes, mentoring, junior achievement, church groups, soup kitchens, road/park cleanup, etc.).

-It is through this service that one experiences the secret of going beyond one's self. And what lies beyond the self? Do you know EVERYTHING? Why don't you go there and see!

-Without the struggle AGAINST negative emotions......or the FEEDING of negative emotions.....what happens to them? Find out! :)

-Power and support,

-David Z. Mason

[Judy]

Karen Knowler, raw food coach from the UK, talks a lot about this transformation process and not only noticed it within herself, but in all her clients as well, so it's an important part of her coaching work.
People notice changes like becoming more spiritual, feeling more connected to everything, feeling they've outgrown their life, their job, their relationship(s), the place where they live, and that change is necessary, but not always nice... People who don't want to deal with the emotional stuff or who don't want to change, usually seem to take a step back in regard to their diet or 'fail' until they do. So it's not just a change of diet you're getting yourself into.

I agree with her, a lot of emotional stuff is rising to the surface while eating so pure, you're body and energy become lighter, and I think the diet is hard to keep up (I mean, not in the long term when you keep trying, but diving in cold turkey), because of that reason. Some people can do it just like that, but I think most people can't.
I also believe that this diet comes to you, when you are prepared, like... spiritually somehow. Like you're ready to lead the life you are really supposed to live and are ready for change.
I couldn't handle 100% in the beginning (14 months ago), although I really wanted to. I could just gradually change, so my diet was 50/50 too, with lots of junkfood in the periods I felt restless.
Since two weeks or so, I decided to up the amount because I felt this was a period of huge change, I felt I was ready and at the moment I'm actually eating high raw, which resulted in drastic shifts in energy. The amount of insights I gained the last couple of days was incredible and I feel up to that.

So in short: I've learnt to deal with it gradually and do what feels right for me, instead of pushing myself towards a 100% raw food diet in one go, solely for the reason of being 100%. I just take what I can handle, one step at a time. If I'm ready for more, I'll know.

[Raw Mom]

How to deal with the emotions? You just take it day by day. Some days are better than others, but continuing with a raw lifestyle certainly does make things clearer. I didn't say easier, I said clearer. I've been high raw for almost a year. Many life altering changes during the first few months. Then when those cleared, new stuff started popping up. You make choices about the people in your life, you find some sort of committed practice(I do yoga, teach yoga and also serve in my community), and you find the love within yourself. When you do that, finding love outside yourself comes more natural. Be well.....keep hanging in there....:cool:

[tali]

I was worried about this too. I've only been doing this a week so take this with a grain of salt (celtic sea salt of course!).

I feel so much more at peace with this decision than anything in my life. I feel satisfied with the food I'm eating and I'm not craving junk and honestly, I've been very stressed this past week and would normally be eating a lot of junk as a result but because the food that is going in is so high quality, there is no room for any junk.

I realize I may be an exception to the norm but it's been my experience.

Another thing .. I stopped telling myself I was an emotional eater. I say, "I used to be an emotional eater but now I eat when my body is hungry."

Your words are very crucial.

[spiralgirl]

Strawberry Smoothie,

Oh boy can I relate. I've been a food addict for many years along with my sister. Honestly I prayed a lot and asked the Lord to help me get through this monumental lifestyle. One day at a time has worked well for me. Also I really focus on how I feel. The first few weeks were extremely difficult for me and there were some times when I was so frustrated and wanted to eat SAD food. My mom and sister had started raw three weeks prior to me so they were a big motivation and also really helped me along the way.

Distracting myself helped sometimes too like getting up and doing something else or having a glass of water and really asking myself if I was really hungry or was I trying to feed an emotional feeling. Also when I'm tempted to eat SAD I remember the guilt I used to live with on a daily basis and I sometimes visualize eating whatever it is SAD I want and I taste the food, etc. and then think of the way it will feel like lead in my body and how disappointed I'll be because it won't live up to my expectations, then the horrible tummy ache will hit. This usually discourages me and I walk away. When I ate SAD food I was never satisfied no matter what I ate. It was always about living for the next thing I would eat and then that wouldn't satisfy and it was a vicious cycle.

Two and a half months later I still get tempted but it's easier to not give in now. I don't know if I will ever stop craving SAD food because it was a crutch I used for so long.

Also I had small goals when I started like just lasting 30 days. Then after 30 days I wanted to do 3 months, now I'm thinking 6 months. I know it's hard but you can do it. When my mom and sister started I ate some raw meals with them and then was still eating junk food too. I started seeing them lose weight and feel better and I knew I had to start. Also when going raw I don't deny myself anything raw related. The past ten weeks I've had raw cheesecake, raw fudge etc. If you make it too restrictive you won't last, at least that's my experience with past plans. So I eat when I want and whatever I want as long as it's raw.

This forum is here to encourage you as well.:)

[styersky]

I was worried about this too. I've only been doing this a week so take this with a grain of salt (celtic sea salt of course!).

I feel so much more at peace with this decision than anything in my life. I feel satisfied with the food I'm eating and I'm not craving junk and honestly, I've been very stressed this past week and would normally be eating a lot of junk as a result but because the food that is going in is so high quality, there is no room for any junk.

I realize I may be an exception to the norm but it's been my experience.

Another thing .. I stopped telling myself I was an emotional eater. I say, "I used to be an emotional eater but now I eat when my body is hungry."

Your words are very crucial.



I love your response ! ! !

All of my life I have been an emotional and depressed person. Immediately after going RAW I was no longer depressed, but rather elated and happy about every thing! ! ! I am not exaggerating! I was an emotional eater, but now so what if I am . . . I can eat all I want and I am losing weight. It seems that the right good food even when used for emotional reasons improve my health. If I need chocolate then I make RAW fudge and pig out. I did that about three times, eating way more than I needed. Now when I make the fudge, I only want one or two pieces until the next day. That may still be emotional eating kicking in and since it is chocolate I am sure it is, but it is still healthy.

I have a large handful of greens (spinach usually) in a green smoothie each morning. If I do not, then the depression tries to creep in. When that happens I simply get another green smoothie. After 4 weeks now, the "relapses" do not happen. Avocados are a blessing for me also. They really sustain me emotionally and every other way. I think the avocado is when I started losing weight.

Now when I tend to want to pig out . . . it is on tomatoes, avocado and onion ! ! ! Strange, yeah, but when it happens I just eat all I want until it crops up again.

Don't know if that means anything to anyone else, but that's my two cents worth for whatever it is worth to you! Thanks for sharing and hopefully we can help each other.

[Riiiya]

well, i tend to overeat when in a state of an emotional wreck, but these raw days when i felt i wanted to eat smth out of comfort.. i had couple of bananas with mangos..... soooooo sweet and sugary BUT i did not feel guilty for it, and i ended up eating not so much.. Once i'd eat a lot of SAD before, i would feel even WORSE physically and mentally. GO RAW!

[SmilingRawDancer]

I still deal with my pre-raw emotional eating problems.
If I am stressed I'll crave a big handful of cashews when I'm not even hungry, so I'll eat them, and then I'll go through my ED thoughts of wanting to starve the next day just to make up for my lack of control.
The problem is STILL THERE, it is just greatly muffled. To other people, eating an extra smoothie out of stress STILL sounds like you're an insane health- freak, but it can feel like you're killing your body when you're cramming extra stuff in....I'll feel sick, but somehow the physical sick feeling numbs whatever is going on emotionally that I'm trying to cover or fill.

I do it less often, but I go by a few self-imposed rules now:
- Positive self-talk practice (like what Tali said about saying "I USED to be an emotional eater")
- Buy more of what you want yourself to be eating in the hard times. I buy less nuts and more baby carrots or apples.
- JOURNAL - it helps alot

[Riiiya]

- JOURNAL - it helps alot

That's so true! i found out my online journal helps me understand myself better.. because many times when i Overeat while emotionally "unstable" i would want to eraze that from my memory the next day.. but with a journal i can go back and see exactly how i felt and learn from it :cool:

[SmilingRawDancer]

I just posted a new entry in my RFT blog, and just now, DOING THAT helped me to feel relieved and not go stuff my face with cashews.
It really does wonders to just cry and force yourself to feel vulnerable, and it's even better with these online blogs, because you feel like you're not just writing in a journal that no one will read, you feel like someone out there in the universe is actually reading and possibly understanding you.
it's a huge relief, emotionally.

[Strawberry Smoothie]

That's so true! i found out my online journal helps me understand myself better.. because many times when i Overeat while emotionally "unstable" i would want to eraze that from my memory the next day.. but with a journal i can go back and see exactly how i felt and learn from it :cool:

Journaling is hard for me. No actually, it's impossible. I can hardly speak my feelings, let alone write them down, because it makes them real, which I've never been able to deal with.

[rawchocoyotita@yahoo.com]

This was one of the most interesting threads I have found so far. I hope the following helps.
I believe there are many reasons why so many emotions come up when we go raw. I think we underestimate the power of what goes on in our intestines. The intestines hold memories of our feelings (you know like when we get butterflies in our tummy – our gut is reacting to an external situation). Some of us have lived through trauma and our gut has gotten used to us using food to anesthetize our emotions when we are on the SAD. When we are eating cooked meals we tend to (pardon my French) – mentally masturbate with food. We know that we are overweight, unhealthy or sick and that we shouldn’t eat certain foods yet, we eat that cookie and before you know it – we’ve eaten the whole box.
We try to do the same thing with raw food but, we’re not getting the same resistance to eating healthy because there’s nothing wrong with what we are eating. With raw food we cannot anesthetize our emotions nor play head games about what we are eating so we are left to deal with what is really bugging us.
I am going on my 3rd year. This is what I have learned about myself on my raw journey.

[freelive]

Karen Knowler, raw food coach from the UK, talks a lot about this transformation process and not only noticed it within herself, but in all her clients as well, so it's an important part of her coaching work.
People notice changes like becoming more spiritual, feeling more connected to everything, feeling they've outgrown their life, their job, their relationship(s), the place where they live, and that change is necessary, but not always nice... People who don't want to deal with the emotional stuff or who don't want to change, usually seem to take a step back in regard to their diet or 'fail' until they do. So it's not just a change of diet you're getting yourself into.

I agree with her, a lot of emotional stuff is rising to the surface while eating so pure, you're body and energy become lighter, and I think the diet is hard to keep up (I mean, not in the long term when you keep trying, but diving in cold turkey), because of that reason. Some people can do it just like that, but I think most people can't.
I also believe that this diet comes to you, when you are prepared, like... spiritually somehow. Like you're ready to lead the life you are really supposed to live and are ready for change.
I couldn't handle 100% in the beginning (14 months ago), although I really wanted to. I could just gradually change, so my diet was 50/50 too, with lots of junkfood in the periods I felt restless.
Since two weeks or so, I decided to up the amount because I felt this was a period of huge change, I felt I was ready and at the moment I'm actually eating high raw, which resulted in drastic shifts in energy. The amount of insights I gained the last couple of days was incredible and I feel up to that.

So in short: I've learnt to deal with it gradually and do what feels right for me, instead of pushing myself towards a 100% raw food diet in one go, solely for the reason of being 100%. I just take what I can handle, one step at a time. If I'm ready for more, I'll know.

Oh, my do I agree with you. I was raw for 6 months and then I started knowing very clearly what I want from my life-to move where I could have a garden and nature around me, and other things, but my husband is not supportive and I still was not ready to leave him and go with my four year old son, because it is hard economically and also because in the divorce case he said he would not let me move out of state where it would be cheaper to live.
So I went back to cooked...Now I am back to raw and I know I will have to face the situation again...
I hope I won't use other crutches just to avoid hard decisions...

[amyambro1]

I've been raw for a little over 2 months and am certainly in the stage of dealing with suppressed emotions. It has been a challenge. I am working with meditation and constant mindfulness to try and catch the feelings as they arise. Then I try and let them go before I act on them.

[Graciebeliever]

Journal or BLOG that is what I do.. I will always have overeating with me. I embrace it as part of who I am.. If I stay Raw then they hold little sway over me. I mean gobbling down a salad the size of my bathtub wouldn't do to me what a box of cookies or 1/2 gallon of ice cream would!! Go for the Raw the balance will come :)

[styersky]

I may sound like a broken record. . . Emotional problems have always plagued me all of my life. Every morning I have a green smoothie with a large handful of spinach. The one day I missed it . . . all of the "garbage" in my head returned. I won't miss again.

[StarFire]

I haven't been 100% for more than a couple days at a time, and frankly, I'm scared. I've always used food to stuff down emotions that I'm afraid of dealing with.

Have many of you that have gone 100% experienced these strong emotions that you've had to contend with, and how did you do it? I'm afraid of the mental clarity that is sure to come with this lifestyle.

I look forward to hearing your experiences.

why??? :confused: Strawberry Smoothie... why are you afraid of mental clarity ????????

I'm not sure I understand that from a personal viewpoint. There is a lot of light and vibrant foods going into your body when you are eating raw foods... so it will fill you to the point that darkness is no longer welcome with in you! This is a beautiful thing. Sometimes it might be painful... but most times - the process is very healing, very uplifting and very VERY BEAUTIFUL...

I understand emotional wounds being hidden - covered over, buried... locked in boxes and stored under mounds and mounds of other emotional baggage!! Believe me ... my childhood was a shocking horrifying journey -- and would even be hard to believe as a hollywood movie... but it is absolutely TRUE... and I did survive it... and I did learn from it...

and now -- I am healing ... it is great gift to receive this healing... and to be filled with light...

This journey is one of the greatest gifts I have ever recieved from the Lord... and I am so blessed to be on this journey. I do hope that you can find joy and peace in taking this step -- it is a life changing experience... to finally be free and happy...

blessings on your journey... may you find your balance and may your path be gentle...

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/hug-1.gif

[styersky]

I had no fear . . . things could not be as bad emotionally as before. There had to be improvement over that. From Day One I began to feel relieved and free from the garbage in my head. After one week of 100% (maybe 95% somedays) there is absolutely no way I would go back. I no longer have to deal with the garbage from my childhood and first marriage . . . because the garbage is gone and replaced with the joy of TODAY! I began Raw on July 24 and will never go back. Getting the proper nutrients into my body, particularly my brain, was what I had needed all of these years. There are so many who experienced similar garbage as mine when younger, but they do not dwell on it, and I won't either now that I see the connection between emotions and nutrition.

Forgive me for going on, but I so want others to feel what I am experiencing.