Night Eating Syndrome – What Others Can Say in the Middle of the Night

It’s all well and good to talk to your support person and receive emotional support during the day. But daytime is not the problem, is it? No. It’s during the night when you need the most support to help you change. What can you do about that? One good idea would be to talk to your friend during the day to figure out what will be most helpful in the middle of the night. What can someone say to you? If you get agitated when you are up in the middle of the night, then you may want to tell your friend to be patient with you while you are adjusting to becoming more receptive about receiving help. The more you talk about your night eating with your friend during the day, the more aware you will be during the night that this person is trying to help you.

About a hundred years ago, a man named Emile Coue had an enormous impact on the mental health movement in America and abroad. His major tool was a mantra. A mantra is a word or phrase that you find comforting and reinforcing. For many years, numbers of Americans were fervent advocates of Coue and his mantra, which was “Day by day in every way I am getting better and better.” Today Coue is looked upon as an interesting historical figure, and his movement has vanished. But at the time, his mantra was a major fixture in American society. If you think that this mantra would help you, feel free to adopt it and tell your support person about it. Otherwise, find a short phrase that you can make your own. A mantra may be able to help you control your night eating.

For example, you can repeat your chosen phrase to yourself, one such as, “I am not hungry. I will go back to sleep.” Work on those words that would provide you with the most comfort and help when the going gets tough. You can repeat your mantra as you do your breathing exercises, and the two can reinforce each other. You can also tell your chosen mantra to your housemate. When you are up at night looking for food and not using your mantra, your housemate can repeat your mantra out loud to help coax you back to bed. The more you believe in what you are saying, the more effective the words will be, and the more you will be able to identify with them when you are reminded of them in the middle of the night

Your support person could also talk to you about something that is meaningful to you. Perhaps you have a social function coming up and you are trying to lose a few pounds. You could ask your housemate to remind you of this event when you are trying to get up out of bed to eat, or when you are snacking before you go to bed. Again, if your friend tells you this in a way that is too invasive or overbearing, you may suggest a better way of saying it, or not saying it at all.

Related posts:

1. Night Eating Syndrome – Getting Help from Your Friends
2. Night Eating Syndrome and Polysomnography
3. Night Eating Syndrome – Starting a Journal and Dealing with Family and Roommates
4. Night Eating Syndrome and Disturbed Sleep
5. Who Else Has Night Eating Syndrome?
6. Night Eating Syndrome – Getting Help from Others
7. Types of Night Eating Syndrome – The Compelled Evening and Nighttime Overeater
8. Night Eating Syndrome and Sleep
9. Binge-Eating Disorder and Night Eating Syndrome
10. Depression and Stress in People with Night Eating Syndrome