when my food noise was at its worst, I used to walk into my kitchen, look around in the fridge/cupboards, start to panic/spiral, and walk back out. sometimes I would sit at the little table in the corner of the kitchen and go into a complete bodily freeze, my mind spinning with food noise. it was incredibly loud and completely overwhelming. my whole body would feel tense, my stomach knotted and gassy from hunger, my shoulders shifted forward and taught, my chest tight and breathing shallow. nothing felt like the right, perfect thing to eat. everything was too something; too sugary, too fatty, too processed, too hot, too cold, too hard to prepare, too expensive to order from grubhub, too much of a pain to go out in public and get from the grocery store. none of the options felt correct, so I would just collapse in on myself.
I have thankfully found systems and solutions for this and now don't deal with nearly as much food noise. I think these yin practices are so, so crucial and wish I'd had them when I was struggling. thank you for the work you do, Dana. it's so important.
What a beautiful (if painfully familiar) example of what food noise can feel like and be like in body and mind. It really can take over everything. Thank you for sharing, Erin. And I love hearing that you’ve found systems and solutions that bring peace and relief. It is possible!
This is such a beautiful piece Dana. Although food noise hasn't been my predominant struggle, so much of what you offer here feels resonant with so many other patterns and struggles that show up in life. Committing to a practice, connecting with the body, moving towards rather than away, and getting curious about what's hard, feel like such cornerstones that have helped me with patterns like anxiety and over-thinking many times. And I love your conceptualisation of the yin/yang practices.
Thank you, Vicki. I love hearing that you see the resonance with other areas - yes! Also, I love imagining how you help guide folks through exactly this sort of exploration in your clinical practice (and in your writing, for that matter). Grateful for your presence in the world!
I came to the comments to share basically this. I found these ideas highly useful, even though I don’t face a problem with food or food noise. These concepts and practices may apply to all kinds of unhelpful preoccupations. Thank you, Dana.
Excellent resources and framework for this, thank you.
When I suffered from extreme food noise, it was always after work was done for the day and I was on my way home. I started getting a clenched, horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. This prompted my brain to go through all of the various junk food fixes possible in my area. Nothing would seem to stop it except a full belly.
But the trigger moment was finishing my tasks and feeling the emptiness. What I wasn’t doing was staying in that feeling, I was saying no to it.
Like you’re leading up to, it was a multi-part solution for myself. Eliminate the physical trigger, proactively support the body with balanced nutrition before the craving, add a mental layer, and examine the spiritual root.
Thanks so much for sharing, Tim. I appreciate your clarity around the timing, triggers, how it all felt in body and mind, and the path you took to get from how things were before to where they are now. Such a beautiful example of noticing a pattern, how it dependably played out, and where and how you could choose to step into something different. Love it!
Tim - this comment of your experience helps me tremendously. I relate so much. My food noise is amped the loudest right when I get home after my work day. It’s almost immediate. And deafening. I’m working on trying to understand why I feel empty once I step out of task master and why I feel the need to fill myself with junk and excess when I am in my home, where I ought to feel comfort and peace.
For me, it seemed like I was filling my soul with busy-ness and distractions. Once those are gone, the dissatisfaction and emptiness is even more obvious.
The good news is, it is a condition that can be moved past. As in, it can be in your past. For me, the very first step was awareness.
Never heard the phrase 'food noise' before but it makes sense. As someone recently in therapy for eating disorder this makes a lot of good sense. I will share a link to this on my Sunday newsletter.
I’ve been paying closer attention to food noise these past few weeks. I’m seeing it now as a trauma response. When my sympathetic system gets activated, the urge arises to use food as a distraction/numbing strategy. Because I’m currently working through some core wounds, it’s happening often. Some I’m experimenting with titration- how can I do this deep healing without activating a survival response? It’s pretty hit or miss, but I think I’m on to something big. Thanks for pointing me in this direction.
Dana - thank you so much for this series. I took my time reading it. I went back to it and will continue to use this as a guide. 🙏🏼
This part, especially, gave me a huge aha:
“Whatever you choose, resist jumping from aisle to aisle in the Supermarket of Spirituality & Healing. Commit to one thing and commit to staying.”
I know turning down the noise and limiting my menu of wellness /self care is what I need. I just impulsively chase “more.”
I have a tendency to consume, overly consume, which always leads to overwhelm. My eating lately is mimicking exactly how I drank. Fast, to numb and in secrecy.
This is something I’m working on with my therapist. She has asked me to keep a food journal but to mention no where in it what I ate. Only to write down events, mood, and levels of hunger/fullness around my food choices. For just a week to get curious. I’m beginning it this weekend. Perfect timing with your offerings here.
I have the hardest time locating “where” I feel it in my body. My mental gymnastics is so noisy that it overrides hearing or feeling any sensation in my body. And then I hear self criticism amp up - I want to yell at myself, why can’t you do this? You know how to do this. You quieted the boozy noise, why is food taking over?”
Thank you so much for being here and sharing, Allison. I love your clarity and awareness around your patterns (which no doubt already sets powerful, helpful shifts in motion).
And I love your food journal assignment! It’s similar to the kind of journal I’ve asked my TCM clients to keep. I also ask people to write down what they’re eating - not the amount, and no calorie counting, but the specific foods. Still, the information about everything surrounding the food (inside and out) is immensely valuable. For many people, it’s the first time they’re bringing focused awareness to it and so many insights emerge.
Thank you. This helps me in that it feels promising to be journaling my food this way. Granular awareness may be necessary at this point and hopefully, with time and intention, it will be intuitive.
Also, I incorporated a bit of what you suggest in this part two. At my first meal today, I just gently guided my mind back to "just notice. Just notice." A simplification of something that feels so hard for me right now.
when my food noise was at its worst, I used to walk into my kitchen, look around in the fridge/cupboards, start to panic/spiral, and walk back out. sometimes I would sit at the little table in the corner of the kitchen and go into a complete bodily freeze, my mind spinning with food noise. it was incredibly loud and completely overwhelming. my whole body would feel tense, my stomach knotted and gassy from hunger, my shoulders shifted forward and taught, my chest tight and breathing shallow. nothing felt like the right, perfect thing to eat. everything was too something; too sugary, too fatty, too processed, too hot, too cold, too hard to prepare, too expensive to order from grubhub, too much of a pain to go out in public and get from the grocery store. none of the options felt correct, so I would just collapse in on myself.
I have thankfully found systems and solutions for this and now don't deal with nearly as much food noise. I think these yin practices are so, so crucial and wish I'd had them when I was struggling. thank you for the work you do, Dana. it's so important.
What a beautiful (if painfully familiar) example of what food noise can feel like and be like in body and mind. It really can take over everything. Thank you for sharing, Erin. And I love hearing that you’ve found systems and solutions that bring peace and relief. It is possible!
I can relate to all of this, Erin. Thank you for sharing your experience.
This is such a beautiful piece Dana. Although food noise hasn't been my predominant struggle, so much of what you offer here feels resonant with so many other patterns and struggles that show up in life. Committing to a practice, connecting with the body, moving towards rather than away, and getting curious about what's hard, feel like such cornerstones that have helped me with patterns like anxiety and over-thinking many times. And I love your conceptualisation of the yin/yang practices.
Thank you, Vicki. I love hearing that you see the resonance with other areas - yes! Also, I love imagining how you help guide folks through exactly this sort of exploration in your clinical practice (and in your writing, for that matter). Grateful for your presence in the world!
I came to the comments to share basically this. I found these ideas highly useful, even though I don’t face a problem with food or food noise. These concepts and practices may apply to all kinds of unhelpful preoccupations. Thank you, Dana.
Thanks, Adam! I appreciate hearing how they landed, and I know you have such a strong practice of inquiry, reflection, and action.
Excellent resources and framework for this, thank you.
When I suffered from extreme food noise, it was always after work was done for the day and I was on my way home. I started getting a clenched, horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. This prompted my brain to go through all of the various junk food fixes possible in my area. Nothing would seem to stop it except a full belly.
But the trigger moment was finishing my tasks and feeling the emptiness. What I wasn’t doing was staying in that feeling, I was saying no to it.
Like you’re leading up to, it was a multi-part solution for myself. Eliminate the physical trigger, proactively support the body with balanced nutrition before the craving, add a mental layer, and examine the spiritual root.
Thanks so much for sharing, Tim. I appreciate your clarity around the timing, triggers, how it all felt in body and mind, and the path you took to get from how things were before to where they are now. Such a beautiful example of noticing a pattern, how it dependably played out, and where and how you could choose to step into something different. Love it!
Tim - this comment of your experience helps me tremendously. I relate so much. My food noise is amped the loudest right when I get home after my work day. It’s almost immediate. And deafening. I’m working on trying to understand why I feel empty once I step out of task master and why I feel the need to fill myself with junk and excess when I am in my home, where I ought to feel comfort and peace.
I’m sure you will find a way through it.
For me, it seemed like I was filling my soul with busy-ness and distractions. Once those are gone, the dissatisfaction and emptiness is even more obvious.
The good news is, it is a condition that can be moved past. As in, it can be in your past. For me, the very first step was awareness.
First step = awareness. Check, I'm aware. Thanks for flushing this out and for the encouragement.
So much to practice with here. This would make a great e-book, in combination with the other two parts.
Thank you, Maia! This series is definitely turning into a lengthier, more comprehensive resource than I first set out to write!
Never heard the phrase 'food noise' before but it makes sense. As someone recently in therapy for eating disorder this makes a lot of good sense. I will share a link to this on my Sunday newsletter.
Thanks for being here and for sharing, JFT!
I’ve been paying closer attention to food noise these past few weeks. I’m seeing it now as a trauma response. When my sympathetic system gets activated, the urge arises to use food as a distraction/numbing strategy. Because I’m currently working through some core wounds, it’s happening often. Some I’m experimenting with titration- how can I do this deep healing without activating a survival response? It’s pretty hit or miss, but I think I’m on to something big. Thanks for pointing me in this direction.
Beautiful insights and places of exploration and practice, Pamela. Thank you for being here and sharing. ❤️
Dana - thank you so much for this series. I took my time reading it. I went back to it and will continue to use this as a guide. 🙏🏼
This part, especially, gave me a huge aha:
“Whatever you choose, resist jumping from aisle to aisle in the Supermarket of Spirituality & Healing. Commit to one thing and commit to staying.”
I know turning down the noise and limiting my menu of wellness /self care is what I need. I just impulsively chase “more.”
I have a tendency to consume, overly consume, which always leads to overwhelm. My eating lately is mimicking exactly how I drank. Fast, to numb and in secrecy.
This is something I’m working on with my therapist. She has asked me to keep a food journal but to mention no where in it what I ate. Only to write down events, mood, and levels of hunger/fullness around my food choices. For just a week to get curious. I’m beginning it this weekend. Perfect timing with your offerings here.
I have the hardest time locating “where” I feel it in my body. My mental gymnastics is so noisy that it overrides hearing or feeling any sensation in my body. And then I hear self criticism amp up - I want to yell at myself, why can’t you do this? You know how to do this. You quieted the boozy noise, why is food taking over?”
{*deep sigh*}
Thank you so much for being here and sharing, Allison. I love your clarity and awareness around your patterns (which no doubt already sets powerful, helpful shifts in motion).
And I love your food journal assignment! It’s similar to the kind of journal I’ve asked my TCM clients to keep. I also ask people to write down what they’re eating - not the amount, and no calorie counting, but the specific foods. Still, the information about everything surrounding the food (inside and out) is immensely valuable. For many people, it’s the first time they’re bringing focused awareness to it and so many insights emerge.
Thank you. This helps me in that it feels promising to be journaling my food this way. Granular awareness may be necessary at this point and hopefully, with time and intention, it will be intuitive.
Also, I incorporated a bit of what you suggest in this part two. At my first meal today, I just gently guided my mind back to "just notice. Just notice." A simplification of something that feels so hard for me right now.
Beautiful, Allison!