Ever hear someone talk about being in an on again/off again relationship? When they’re on, they’re great. The partners are in synch, nurturing each other, providing good support, a mutually beneficial give and take. They have fun together. Sunlight, roses, upbeat music surround them. Joy ensues and they feel like, together, everything is better and they are invincible.
When relationships are off, whew boy. The bloom comes off that rose. Everything that used to be so simpatico dissolves into a morass of discontent. The things that attracted two people to each other often become annoying. Cute turns to cloying. Give and take become keep and take more. Sometimes you downright love and loathe each other at the same time and end up resenting what you most need.
This sounds a lot like my relationship with food and, by extension, with recovery. When things are good, I’m in that sunlight and roses place. Food is nourishment, it supports my body. I enjoy what I eat and, when in strong recovery, I feel invincible.
When the relationship goes into “off again” mode, my viewpoint, attitude and emotions get completely skewed. Take individual foods for example. When in recovery, I absolutely love and savor healthy, delicious food. I’ll get positively gleeful over a fresh salad with crisp vegetables and a melange of wonderful flavors. Fruit is like ambrosia. I taste and feel joy over fueling my body with yummy food and not overeating or compulsing.
When I go to the “off again” place, there’s no appeal in those same salad ingredients. I lose my appetite for healthy food and start craving junk like sugary doughnuts and greasy french fries.
The food itself hasn’t changed. I know that. It’s all in my perception of it, depending on the state of my recovery. When I’m in a good place, like I am tonight, I look at my whack perceptions and just sort of shake my head at the ridiculousness. Living in a diseased state of binge eating or compulsive eating holds more than its share of crazy behavior, that’s for sure.
I’d like to keep my relationship with food on a more even keel, based on the simple fact that food is just food. I don’t need to invest so much of my emotions and mental health in it. Food can be a pleasure, when I eat it in reasonable, healthy, appropriate ways.
When I don’t, it can be the most stress-inducing, emotional turmoil producing matter in the world.
Currently, I’m in a good place. I’m grateful and know that recovery can be fragile. I need to shore it up, give it my proper time and attention. Recovery needs to be tended and nurtured so that it grows healthy and strong. That’s not all that different than an other relationship.
Weighty Matters 
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