When its not about the food
Much has been written in the Blogosphere about Oprah’s recent ‘fessing up to her obvious weight (re)gain. But Huffington Post contributor Deborah King’s take on it is perhaps the best I’ve read yet.
After struggling with an eating disorder and other addictions in the past, King now works as a health and wellness educator. I don’t know much about King beyond her website bio, but according to it she is the author of the book “Truth Heals: What You Hide Can Hurt You” and promotes alternative medical approaches to addictions. In her letter to Oprah, King reiterates what many other bloggers have insisted: Oprah doesn’t need to apologize for her weight, and regaining the weight is nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about (especially when it was shed via a drastic liquid diet). What makes King’s perspective unique is her emphasis on Oprah’s personal life and the underlying reasons that make Oprah an admitted “food addict.” Writes King:
Addictions are impossible to heal when you haven’t fully addressed the original wounds that created the addiction in the first place. …As you have said in the past, “I’ve felt safer and more protected when I was heavy. Food has always been comforting.”
More nutrition and/or exercise gurus won’t help you get to the root of the problem. It’s important to remember that the power to heal the original wound that created this behavior and the power to heal the emotional pain lies only within you. …Here you are, possibly the most vocal women on the planet today, who has spoken out often about abuse and acted swiftly to fix the situation in Africa, and yet there are still things you can’t say — even to yourself.
Many people are not willing or able to look inside and see the reason they are starving or stuffing their bodies. They are trying to stave off the hurt and the pain without confronting and releasing it. Far more powerful than fitting into size 10 Calvin Klein jeans is the feeling that you don’t ever have to be ashamed of what happened to you.
King goes into more depth on the concepts of chakras and energy points in the body, but even if you don’t buy into her new-age religion, the underlying argument is indisputable: For people with disordered eating or an eating disorder, weight is but a symptom of a larger, often emotional problem. Trying to manage one’s weight without addressing the larger issues of why one overeats, restricts food, regulates intake of food, creates rules for food and consumption, etc… is like taking Aleve to treat a brain tumor.
For a quite different and highly philosophical perspective, check out the musings of Ben, the husband of Babble blogger Lindsay. And am I the only one who thinks Oprah looks radiantly beautiful and seemingly healthy at her current weight? In fact, the only thing that could make Oprah any more beautiful than she is now is if discarded that tired and ragged cloak of body hatred and instead wrapped herself within a silky sheath of pride, love and self-acceptance.
Cross-posted on www.the-f-word.org
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