Episode 91: Let's Talk About...Anxiety (and why our parts eat when we're anxious)

On this week's podcast episode we're talking about anxiety, one of the most common things that lead our parts to food.  Very often, parts in our system use food to calm our anxious parts.  I think this happens for a couple of reasons.  First, food can be a great distraction when we're feeling anxious.  And second, food actually calms us down.  Research has shown that food (especially carbs) elevates serotonin levels, which can decrease depression and anxiety.

So if you're someone who tends to eat when you're anxious, there's a reason for that.  It works.  

And I think it's really important to understand anxiety so that it doesn't always lead us to food.  So, on today's episode we talk about anxiety in a number of ways:

  • the heritability of anxiety

  • the concept of anxiety as a legacy burden--and how to know if this is true for you

  • why parts experience anxiety

  • how and why parts use food to manage anxiety

We also get into what to do about all of this (spoiler alert:  get to know your parts!).  If you're someone who experiences anxiety (and I know I am), I hope this one's helpful for you!

Click below to listen!

Kimberly Daniels