Old coping mechanisms

"When we consistently use defenses that we developed twenty  or fifty years ago, we freeze ourselves in the past.  We lose touch with reality.  We live a lie." --Geneen Roth Women, Food, and God

We definitely need past experiences to draw from -- knowing how to act the second time around based on what happened the first time is how we mature, right?

But what if our reactions to the present (being governed by our past) are holding us back?  What if we aren't looking for new and improved ways to deal with situations based on past experiences.  What if we consistently choose the same reaction, not because it worked the best in the past, but because we have used it so many times in the past. 

If this becomes the case, we never live in the present moment -- we are doomed to repeat, repeat, repeat the past -- which is great if your past is all rainbows and ponies -- but if not, wouldn't you like new results?

If you are not happy with your weight, chances are you have some coping mechanisms developed around food -- eating when you're stressed, not eating when you're stressed and then binging when the stress finally hits critical mass.  Have you ever wondered what part the food plays in all this?  It's really not the taste.  Distraction is a mild way of putting it.  In these cases, food is being used to help disconnect you from the stress -- like wrapping yourself in bubble wrap so nothing bad can get to you....for the time you're eating, anyway.

But is that how you want to deal with your stress?  Or is that just the way you have dealt with it in the past?  Are you ready to deal with your present life and learn better ways to cope -- new defenses so you don't have to live the lie?