{"id":559,"date":"2011-08-20T11:45:42","date_gmt":"2011-08-20T15:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/?p=559"},"modified":"2011-08-20T11:57:08","modified_gmt":"2011-08-20T15:57:08","slug":"559","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html","title":{"rendered":"Comfort Food vs. Food Addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Sometimes we get a craving for something sweet. We just want
\nthat sugar and we\u2019ve got to have it. And sometimes we crave something salty.
\nThese kinds of cravings can be our body\u2019s way of telling us what it needs:
\nsugar for energy or salt for electrolytes. Those are actually healthy cravings
\nand, in moderation, it can be a good thing to listen to them.<\/p>\n

We also get emotional
\ncravings that have nothing to do with our body\u2019s needs. The smell of pizza will
\nprompt us to crave it, or watching someone eat ice cream makes us want it too.
\nFood memories can have powerful emotions linked to them, too. When we\u2019re sick,
\nwe might crave the soup Grandma used to make for us when we had a cold; when
\nwe\u2019re sad, we might crave those cookies mom bought to cheer us up. That\u2019s where
\nthe idea of comfort food comes from.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing
\nparticularly unhealthy about feeding yourself comfort foods when you need
\ncomforting. But there is such a thing as food addiction. Not all food addicts
\nare obese (although many are)\u2014food addiction is more about the strength of the
\ncraving and our ability to control it. So, how do you know when you’ve crossed
\nthe line?<\/p>\n

Food addicts are obsessed with food; sometimes
\nwith a particular food, sometimes with eating. They can\u2019t control
\nthemselves\u2014which is the nature of a true obsession. They keep eating even when
\nthey experience negative consequences and guilt or bad feelings as a result.
\nTheir need to eat creates a physical craving, even when they\u2019re not hungry. And
\nthey associate a sense of comfort and pleasure with food that they don\u2019t
\nbelieve they can get from anything else.<\/p>\n

Food addiction, like
\nall types of addictions, involve adding something to your life that you believe
\nis missing\u2014something that you think will fill up an emptiness you\u2019ve long been
\nstruggling to fill. The problem is that when you get the food, the alcohol, the
\ndrugs, the sex, the shoes, the car\u2014whatever you’re craving\u2014it\u2019s never enough.
\nYou still need more.<\/p>\n

The Law of Sobriety
\nsays you are already perfectly whole, just as you are. All you need to do is
\nrecognize it. When you do, the energy of the universe will fill you up and keep
\nyou satisfied. You won\u2019t need the cookies.<\/p>\n

Sherry Gaba, LCSW, is a Psychotherapist and Life Coach in private practice and on Celebrity Rehab on VH1 with Dr. Drew Pinsky.\u00a0 She is a renowned speaker and author of The Law of Sobriety: Attracting Positive Energy for a Powerful Recovery.\u00a0 Set up your 30 minute consultation by contacting sherry at sherry@sgabatherapy.com<\/a> or go to her web site at www.thelawofsobriety.com<\/a> or www.sgabatherapy.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes we get a craving for something sweet. We just want that sugar and we\u2019ve got to have it. And sometimes we crave something salty. These kinds of cravings can be our body\u2019s way of telling us what it needs: sugar for energy or salt for electrolytes. Those are actually healthy cravings and, in moderation,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":402,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[206,47],"class_list":["post-559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-actors-in-recovery-addictions-addiction-specialist-agoura-hills-agoura-hills-psychotherapist-alternative-medicine-binge-eating-calabasas-celebrity-addiction-celebrity-rehab-co-dependency-diet-dr-drew","tag-dr-drew"],"yoast_head":"\nComfort Food vs. Food Addiction - The Celebrity Therapist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Comfort Food vs. Food Addiction - The Celebrity Therapist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sometimes we get a craving for something sweet. We just want that sugar and we\u2019ve got to have it. And sometimes we crave something salty. These kinds of cravings can be our body\u2019s way of telling us what it needs: sugar for energy or salt for electrolytes. Those are actually healthy cravings and, in moderation,…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Celebrity Therapist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-20T15:45:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-08-20T15:57:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2011\/08\/food-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sherry Gaba\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Comfort Food vs. Food Addiction - The Celebrity Therapist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Comfort Food vs. Food Addiction - The Celebrity Therapist","og_description":"Sometimes we get a craving for something sweet. We just want that sugar and we\u2019ve got to have it. And sometimes we crave something salty. These kinds of cravings can be our body\u2019s way of telling us what it needs: sugar for energy or salt for electrolytes. Those are actually healthy cravings and, in moderation,…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html","og_site_name":"The Celebrity Therapist","article_published_time":"2011-08-20T15:45:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-08-20T15:57:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2011\/08\/food-150x150.jpg"}],"author":"Sherry Gaba","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html","name":"Comfort Food vs. Food Addiction - The Celebrity Therapist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2011\/08\/food-150x150.jpg","datePublished":"2011-08-20T15:45:42+00:00","dateModified":"2011-08-20T15:57:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/#\/schema\/person\/0741dfc75bdebc7207322576ec56d97e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2011\/08\/food-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thecelebritytherapist\/files\/2011\/08\/food-150x150.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2011\/08\/559.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Comfort Food vs. Food Addiction"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/","name":"The Celebrity Therapist","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Sherry Gaba","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/#\/schema\/person\/0741dfc75bdebc7207322576ec56d97e","name":"Sherry Gaba","description":"If you think you might be codependent or a love addict, get Sherry\u2019s FREE Ebook, \u201cThe Truth about Codependency\u201d https:\/\/wakeuprecovery.com\/codependency-quiz\/ Sherry maintains a private practice in Westlake Village, and is a sought after transformationn and recovery coach. For more information visit www.sherrygaba.com or sign up today for Sherry\u2019s online group coaching program for codependents for $19\/month https:\/\/wakeuprecovery.com\/become-a-member-co\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/author\/sherrygaba"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/402"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":563,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559\/revisions\/563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}