Buy Walking VideosMake Yourself A God Box
I HATE the name. I just want to say right up front that I absolutely HATE the name. My sponsor told me to make a God Box. She said she used a lock box, but I could make mine out of anything. I told her I would do it because I decided that I would just do whatever my sponsor said because obviously I had NO idea how to keep my eating under control. If she said I needed to make a God Box, I would.
But I procrastinated. Instead of just making my God Box like she asked me to, I looked at God Boxes on the Internet.
They all turned my stomach a bit until I realized I didn’t like the name. It’s supposed to be a box for things that you just can’t change. You write on a tiny slip of paper the problem that you have no control over and put it into the box to let “God” take care of it. I don’t believe in God, but “Higher Power Box” sounded stupid. “Part of my brain that I haven’t used for so long that it feels like it’s another presence box” sounds stupid, too. So I clung to the name God Box just because it was two syllables.
And I finally made one.
As much as I railed against the name and even the idea of it, it has been incredibly helpful. Every time I feel myself ruminating about something that I can’t control, I just write it on a post-it-note and put it into the box. Somehow, just stuffing it away in that Pringles can helps me.
I hate the name, but the concept and the execution has been something I’ve quickly become thankful for. Every time something irritating or upsetting crosses my mind, I can just stuff it into that can instead of stuffing my face with food. I can’t stress enough how grateful I am for that simple Pringles can.
If you have found yourself ruminating about things or felt the need to eat in order to ease your feelings about something, make yourself a God Box. Create a place to contain your worries and fears so they don’t consume you and, in turn, make you consume more food than you should.
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March 20th, 2014 at 4:39 pm
Hi. I started following this blog because you had some nice ideas and motivational quotes, that really helped me. But now I see you going down and down, and it pains me. Twelve step programs are (pardon my french) BULLSHIT. Especially as a fellow atheist, you should know that they are an exclusively religious front, that no psychological study has proven as valid. They only have ANY measure of success because some members become so engrossed in the organization that it keeps them busy and gives some meaning to their lives.
And that is exactly what we all need. Meaning, purpose. Eating (just like coffee, porn, internet and so on) do NOT give true addictions. We are only addicted to the rush of dopamine that mutes the pain in our lives for a bit. It’s an emotional dependency. It covers deep problems that have to be faced and analyzed, NOT stuffed in a box. That is just as bad as stuffing your face with food. It only postpones the inevitable.
Another evil of twelve step programs is the feeling of helplessness. THE LAST thing we need as overweight people is humility on top of the HUMILIATION. And from your posts, you appear to be both a very humble and a very humiliated person. And you shouldn’t be. What we need is confidence and empowerment, the strength to take back control over our lives and the knowledge to do so. Any relationship that does not push us in that direction is unhealthy.
I’m sorry for ranting, but I guess I couldn’t help myself. Your posts just show you bending over backwards to follow some ridiculous rules and struggling to submit to a “higher power” (aka the christian god, no matter how much they insist otherwise), and it’s just wrong. Overeating IS JUST a symptom. Whether it is a symptom of a medical ailment or a psychological one (like depression), treating it is useless. By the way, that was the message of the “Skinny on obesity” show. NOT that you are powerless to control the overeating, but that you must find the RIGHT REASONS for it and treat THOSE.
So please, listen to me and stop giving money to those charlatans, who just want to keep you powerless and submissive. Seek real help for the problems in your life (there is NOTHING shameful about therapy… just be sure to find a secular doctor, not one that pushes religion on you). And try to be happy. Do stuff you like in your life and don’t let the weight limit you. Be active in a fun way. Food is your friend, enjoy it. And if you feel happy and fulfilled, without the burden of guilt and powerlessness, overeating will disappear.
I hope you will at least consider some of my points. Good luck to you!
August 19th, 2014 at 7:18 am
EuToteu,
It’s so surprising to me to hear every one of my excuses and fears about Twelve Step programs parroted back to me. I had years of therapy. They didn’t help. All I know is that I have been going to OA for almost nine months now and I have lost 47 pounds, where I couldn’t stop bingeing for more than a couple of hours (if that). I’m still an atheist and have been able to translate the god-talk in my mind well enough to make the program work for me. I am SO grateful for OA because I was to the point of eating ALL day long every day. I was slowly killing myself with food, but I have finally found a way to stop it.
I just wish I didn’t let the god-talk scare me away from OA for so long. I could have had this recovery TEN years ago instead of suffering.
Wishing you the best, Laura