Boredom Eating
(So Why The Back To The Future Reference?)
To discuss: Was boredom eating a problem before lockdown?
Is it now?
Do you boredom eat at particular times of the day?
Boredom eating is not about how your life is in a rut and isn't that terrible and what an accurate reflection of how YOU are in a rut. This is just a lie spun by your inner critic.
Boredom eating is all about a desire to overstimulate yourself. I see two reasons for doing this.
Reason #1 For Boredom Eating: Because Society Says Overstimulation Is The Norm
To discuss: How has lockdown affected how much you overstimulate yourself with social media, email etc? More or less? Same but different? In what way?
What healthy ways are there to stimulate your mind in lockdown?
Also: Physical stimulation calms the mind (Eating chillies, exercise, sex - even with yourself!)
Reason #2 For Boredom Eating: Overstimulation In Order To Escape Yourself
This scene is a metaphor for eating to escape yourself.
In this situation, all the characters represent different aspects of your thinking:
Biff = your harsh inner critic that says you are no good
George McFly = the part of you that feels broken, who believes the toxic nonsense that the harsh inner critic spews
Biff's gang = the part of you that feels compelled to eat fast, that thinks it has to go along with Biff's nastiness. You are so awful that you have to escape yourself via boredom eating (the route to not being present). In the same way the gang seem like they are having a great time, but are actually scared, you tell yourself seemingly plausible cover stories like I just have to eat now, but this part of you is actually motivated by fear of what that Inner critic could do if you ignore it.
Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) = the part of you that stands up to the inner critic and the gang by refusing to boredom eat. This part says: even though I am imperfect, I CAN be with myself. I CAN be present and I am not going to use food as a weapon against myself.
Watch this clip where Marty stands up to Biff and note how it ends - Biff loses all his power 🙂
Sidenote: Michael J Fox in his real life, diagnosed at age 29 with Parkinson's disease and campaigning for a cure for Parkinson's, is a great advocate for imperfectionism.
The Back To The Future metaphor also applies to dealing with slow eating. Think about it: If you can focus on slow eating as a way to be present, you automatically make boredom eating a non issue.
For more on this see https://www.theshiftinside.com/slow-eating-2-point-0/
Action Steps
Read https://www.theshiftinside.com/slow-eating-2-point-0/
and during every meal tomorrow do the Marty McFly school canteen visualisation. Be the friend to that lonely kid.
If you have time, I recommend watching the TED talk at the top of the page. It really made me get off my phone after I watched it.
