When we decide to lose weight, we don’t have to look far for reliable information about diet and exercise. Finding and maintaining the emotional will to change lifetime habits is a more difficult, but critical, requirement for success.
According to Kathy Sheffield, a therapist and registered dietician, individuals may be in a better position to live without overeating when they understand how overeating functions in their lives. She asserts that the answer can be found by examining a family’s emotional coping system. For example, when family members relate to each other in a dysfunctional manner, they may unwittingly adapt to the difficult situation at the cost of their own well-being. The resulting conflict and inner tension is managed through food.
One interesting study observed that weight loss occurred at least temporarily when the family system changed. Without exception, the desire to lose weight appeared when a shift in a relationship changed the emotional climate for the dieter.
In one case, a husband's became more emotionally available when his job changed. In another, a difficult relationship with a mother-in-law became manageable after the family moved. Once the emotional climate improved, the dieter was able to make changes. If the climate shifted back, weight was regained.
According to Sheffield, therapy can help individuals discover the link between relationships and eating disorders and offers new possibilities in weight-loss success.
"To err is dysfunctional, to forgive codependent" Berton Averre
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