Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is a day of love and I don’t mean the romantic kind. Instead, this Valentine’s Day, it would be amazing if food addicts everywhere, took time to love and celebrate themselves.
It’s easy to get caught up in the romantic part of this day and while that’s understandable, there’s so much more to love than that. Many food addicts have spent the better part of their lives ruled by their addictions. Between obsessing about food, trying to find it and then hide the evidence of eating it, there was little time for anything else.
We sometimes see food addicts in recovery upset that their lives aren’t “normal” yet, meaning they don’t have romantic partners. It’s important to remember that re-building a life after years of addiction takes time and patience.
It’s also important to understand that a true romantic partnership begins first with loving yourself. If you don’t love yourself, how can you expect anyone else to love you? Learning to love yourself takes time and builds each day as recovery is strengthened.
A very good first step on this day of love is to acknowledge any feelings you may be having today. Then, make a plan to understand and release them. If you’re angry, write an anger letter then burn it. If you’re sad, call a sponsor or friend and talk about it. If you’re happy, go to a meeting and share your joy.
Once you’ve acknowledged and given importance to your feelings, take some time out of your day to do something special for yourself. For some, this may be a warm bubble bath. For others, it’s a walk outside or a bicycle ride. Still others may want to curl up with a warm fire and a good book or even a favorite movie or television show. Or, maybe it’s a trip to see a movie or go bowling or, if you’re really adventurous skiing or snowboarding.
Whatever it is that you like to do, today is the day to do it. You are worth celebrating!
