When Food Becomes the New Issue

Food issues in early recovery is a fairly common experience for a lot of people.

Kolmac Integrated Behavioral Health Center Counselor Rennie Grant (Roc) and Psychiatrist Dr. Tony Massey (Doc) answer your questions about addiction and recovery.

(Psst: In this episode: Roc inadvertently reveals the truth about his sharing problem. See if you can pick it out)

Many people rediscover appetite when they’re just getting started with their recovery. And sure, while it’s great to reacquaint with an old friend like appetite, it’s not so great to rediscover a tendency to take things farther than normal. In this episode, Roc & Doc answer a viewer who finds herself struggling with how much she eats. 

Doc addresses some basic human tendencies that often come to the surface during early recovery: “It’s common to stop one thing and start another.” Often, people use food to deal with certain “feeling states” and this tendency can be heightened early on.    

The main point here is that “recovery is more than ‘stop using’; it’s discovering the beauty of all that life can offer beyond substances.” And one thing’s for sure: There’s more to life than food.

Think of recovery as your food — your nutrition. 

Roc weighs in about how “emotional eating” can occur when we find ourselves bored or lonely (and certainly, a million other possible emotions that seem all the more intense when you’re new to living without alcohol or other drugs).

This short video is worth watching in its entirety. You might just find valuable information and helpful illustrations to help you on the path to living your best life ever.