Melissa

by Melissa | Dec 15, 2020

For most of my life, I struggled with low self-worth that resulted in a lack of self-care and emotional eating. My earliest childhood memory is hiding food in my room and my parents finding mouse droppings on my bed. Boy, was I in trouble! And I felt guilt and shame that I carried with me into college, marriage, and motherhood. I also felt an overwhelming sense of frustration and sadness on top of the guilt and shame that were already there. “I know what to do! Why is this so hard? Why can’t I stop eating all the sugar?” These are the thoughts that went through my mind on repeat. I was isolated and completely overwhelmed.

The starting point of my healing journey was getting diagnosed with PTSD and working through my trauma. This meant getting real about the ugly events that caused the trauma and processing, talking, and FEELING them. That was the most difficult because eating sugar was how I used to STUFF the feelings so I didn’t have to feel them. Taking medication for PTSD was not helpful, so God led me to a holistic route.

I went to healing prayer at our church and shortly after that He connected me with a naturopath. When the doctor sat with me, listened to my story, and ordered various tests to see where my body was off with vitamins, nutrients, and minerals, I felt hopeful for the first time. Not long after that, God showed me the power of food and the impact it has on all areas of health.

So many times, we just associate food with body weight, when really He created us as whole creatures and He desires to treat the whole person, holistically! Realizing the impact of food on my life {not just my weight and health} and transforming my mind, empowered me to change my habits. I realized how food made me FEEL and that some foods aren’t worth eating if they don’t make me feel good and energetic! Breaking free from sugar was a biggie for me because that was my go-to for self-soothing. Thankfully, He broke those chains and sugar no longer controls me like it used to.

Now I am calm, confident, and empowered to be all God made me to be! I’m strong because of His healing work in me. I realize I live for Him alone and what other people think of me doesn’t matter. That is significant freedom for me as a recovering people pleaser {I used to self-soothe with sugar over trying to please others, too!} Getting to the root of the issue is where healing begins.

Quick fixes often deceive us. So many times we try to treat a problem with a band-aid instead of healing the root cause. If we take time to step back and look at the big picture, the root can be addressed and lasting transformation can occur. There is always hope! ~Melissa

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