"We hypothesize that there are "demons" that prevent us from maintaining a healthy weight. Pick a demon from the blog (last week's entry) that applies to you - even in a minor way.
Now, write a brief note to that demon, and explain to it what - if any - function it might have served for you at one time. You may even wish to express your gratitude for that service. Most importantly, explain to your demon why you would like it to go away now, and forever."
Here are a few of our Demon Letters:
"Dear Demon of Positive Strokes Through Food,
Go away. I have enjoyed the positive strokes. They felt good. But go away. I've got enough other - and better - sources of positive strokes."
and another:
"In the past, resentment gave me the illusion of power in a situation where I was unsafe and, in actuality, powerless. It was safe to feel resentment - no one could see the feeling. And I could feel at least somewhat powerful and in control by acknowleging the strong feeling, but not acting on it. I wanted to do many things to punish my abuser but was strong enough not to destroy my future by acting on those impulses. It was an appropriate coping mechanism - given my realities then.
"Resentment no longer serves me well - I am safe and powerful and can take care of myself. I can say out loud what needs to be said. I have the freedom to make the choices I want - positive or negative. I no longer have to define myself in terms of opposition to someone else."
Here's another:
Food as a demon:
"Dear Food:
On one hand I want to exorcise you - at the same time, I need you. The beauty of OPTIFAST was that I could, in many ways, exorcise myself from food - knowing that only program "food" was allowed. In many ways, that was a tremendous relief.
"But food...real food (not the highly processed and refined and chemically altered junk food I am so often attracted to)...I want to think of you not as a demon, but as a friend. Someone who can be my partner in good health.
"If I could partner with whole foods and exorcise refined junk foods, that would be a gift."
And finally,
"Dear Demon,
You - the arbitor of correct function and academic excellence - assisted me in the pursuit of scholastic achievement and even getting into professional school. But the perfectionism you required and the continual criticism and comparisons between me and other people have decreased the enjoyment of my life, and limited my sense of self worth. While I recognize that perfectionism occasionally has its place, you are no longer relevant in my life.
"Therefore, I thank you for any service you may have provided, and require that you leave my life now and forever."
Interesting thoughts!
One group member commented that she could have written a letter to nearly every demon on last week's list. By all means, do that!
As a personal note, I'm always interested in the way we sigh briefly when assigned an exercise, and then write like mad! Kind of telling, I think. We've got stuff to say.
Remember, we're all in this together.
Take care,
Linda Gromko, MD
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