Dec 14 2010
Chronic EBV – How to Deal with Emotional or Comfort Eating
Many patients with chronic EBV turn to comfort food as a solace for how they are feeling. Negative emotions like anger, resentment, frustration and depression are common in chronic EBV. However food is not the answer. Emotional eating can result in poor food choices, over-eating, and further feelings of guilt and despair.
So what can be done? The first step for chronic EBV patients is to recognise if you are an emotional eater. The next step is to try other ways of dealing with your emotional hunger, rather than using food to take care of your problems. Let’s see how this can be done:
1) Write a journal or diary of your chronic EBV journey. Not only will it take your mind off eating but it will also serve as a way of letting go of negative feelings that you may be experiencing.
2) If you feel pangs of negative emotion or panic, spend time with someone that you feel comfortable with to talk these issues through. This could be a good friend, counsellor, priest or relative. As long as you feel comfortable with them is all that matters. It is often advisable to seek help from a health care practitioner or counsellor to help you stop emotional eating and deal with your chronic EBV – they have the skills to help you get there. They will work with you by addressing the situation that you are in now, and work through anything that happened in the past that may have contributed to your emotional eating.
3) Constant anxiety and stress from having chronic EBV can cause ill effects on our body. We generally construct our own stress, by generating negative thoughts about ourselves or by focusing on things that we don’t necessarily like about ourselves. It is really important to imagine the future in a positive light.
4) Learn to recognise your negative state as a signal that there is a basic need or needs that are not being satisfied. You will need to develop the behaviours that will satisfy the need without having to eat. Start perhaps by setting yourself a goal for the day. It should be something like gardening, walking, swimming or playing with your pets. This is a way of letting go of negativity by doing something physical as well as calming the mind and body. Daily goals are something I teach all my patients with chronic EBV.
5) Affirmations can be used whilst you are in a relaxed state to help reduce emotional eating. Here are some examples of affirmations that are helpful for emotional eaters with chronic EBV:
I love my body and treat it kindly
I have the power within me to eat well
I am creating a healthier and happier me.
6) Make sure your eating is not a habit you associate with an activity. For example do you always eat something while watching television? After doing this over a period of time, your mind automatically associates watching television with eating. It becomes an unconscious action. If you do this it is important to become aware and ask yourself questions like the following:
Do I really need it?
Am I hungry?
Will I feel happy after eating it?
Am I really hungry or is it thirst?
Try drinking a glass of water and seeing if you still feel hungry afterwards.
Relapsing into emotional eating
It is not uncommon for people to relapse into their old eating habits, especially if you are under a great deal of stress from an infection like chronic EBV. If you do have a relapse, think about what you can do to improve your response next time. Do this rather than putting yourself down. It takes hard work and effort to change your eating habits – don’t use short term failure as an excuse to give up. Success does not mean the absence of failures – only the achievement of ultimate goals.
Natural treatment for chronic EBV can include natural herbs, nutrients, foods, stress management techniques, graded exercise and essential oils. These therapies are discussed in more detail in the e-book “Nature’s Amazing Mononucleosis Cures” by qualified naturopath Elizabeth Noble. The e-book also comes with 30 day personal email support if you need advice on your individual concerns.
2 responses so far
I was diagnosed with mono after 4 trips to the er wih a temp of 104.6. I had no idea i was sick or had fever. My only complaint was my back and hips felt like they were being pried apart. Strange i know, the nausea and stomach pain was pretty bad but i didn’t mention that to the dr’s i was being treated by. Tons of blood work done antibiotic shots and pain meds for 8 days. When my temp finally left i returned to my pharmacy job still feeling worn down exhausted is putting it mildly. My body felt beat bruised and i just wanted to sleep and not exist for 3 weeks. After neck pain and exhaustion i returned to my dr who decided to do more blood test, and to my astonishment i was finally told you have mono. Well to late no mor fever and i was working again. This has been 3 years ago and since then my vit D level went down to 10 my vit b12 is low. I spent over $5000 out of pocket in last 3 months to see if i had thyroid troubles…..i was left feelig like a pschyco who dr shops and likes to be in dr office’s to be made feel like i just need to take xanax or something simliar. They did some type of ebv test and it is positive. So please what the hell does that mean. I am 49 no longer active and am having to quit my job cause the b12 injections and prescription vit d does nothing for energy and my joints hurt like they are beig pulled apart after working as a tech 9 hours 5 1/2 days a week. Is this what my life will be like from now on….no ore bike riding or hunting trips with my husband or weekend with my grandkids. Now i work come home and sleep, and gained weight cause no kind of activity. I quit smoking a year ago to get healthy and be better off but now i am thiking i should have kept on smoking at least i would not be stressed even more by the cravings on some days. PLEASE ANY HELP I HAVE NOBODY THAT UNDERSTANDS
Hi Beth,
Sorry to hear you have been struggling with your health – it can be a very worrying time.
The Epstein Barr virus that causes mono is a latent virus that can relapse after the initial infection. I would recommend you start on some immune boosting nutrients like vitamin C, zinc and selenium. To help your fatigue and joint pains look at starting on some
magnesium (a muscle relaxant), the B complex and fish oils. Epsom salt baths may help. A holistic doctor or naturopath would be a good idea to get on board to advise you. A support group like http://www.cebv.org may be able to advise on patients who have had similar experiences.
Best Wishes
Elizabeth