Dr. Kathleen Fuller

A Feelings Tool
Journal Questions to Ask When You’re Stuck in Your Emotions

Remember when you do this questioning part of the exercise, you need to
make the effort and be persistent. Results will follow.

Question 1: What are my thoughts in connection to this feeling?
Question 2: What did I think next? How did I feel about it?

Keep asking the above questions and write down as many answers as you get,
boiling it down for as long as it takes, until you get to the bottom where there are
no more thoughts and no more feelings.

A Second Feelings Tool

Drawing Can Uncover What’s Hidden for You

Next draw a stick figure or something else that represents where you are after the last question. Put a dialogue balloon over its head and let the drawing speak to you. What would it say if you drew anything else?

Write three sentences that begin with, “I am _____________” underneath the picture and finish the sentence with a different characteristic of what you felt when you drew the picture.

Remember to do the best you can. There is no right or wrong way to do this
drawing. The important thing is to take action and do it. When you draw, use symbols and images—-the easiest language for the subconscious to understand. This exercise is valuable in beginning to clear out feelings that are blocking you.

After you do this exercise, wait a few minutes and see if you start feeling better. Then check again later in the day to see if the feelings have decreased in intensity. Learn to look for shifts and little steps that will lead you to feeling better. You’ll find as you check in with your feelings, you’ll learn which ones lead to overeating, bingeing, starving or other compulsive eating behaviors.

Acknowledging unconscious habits and fear of feelings, rather than denying them, puts you on your way to balancing them and finding out what will truly make you happy. Feelings are the key to your truth.

When I was a little girl, I used to enjoy the Highlights for Children Magazines where there were pictures and I was asked to find, ”What’s wrong with this picture?” I loved finding all the out-of-place items in the drawing.

When things start to change in my life and I get uncomfortable with the change and the unknown, I ask, “What’s right about this picture?”
Look at the change that might happen after wherever is your stressful situation, and write down all the things that are blessings in disguise.

When you get tired of the victim game (which either “Poor ME” or “Angry ME”), you take the first step toward mastery of change and mastery of your boundaries.

Be Victim Free!

Eating Issues are solved in this book.

When you set a goal or commit to a purpose you may feel overwhelming intimidation. I have found this in my own personal experiences in dealing with my diet and my non healthy food choices. Making an inner goal about food scared me because deep in my subconscious mind, I believed I did not deserve good or a successful goal. The best way to process this type of fear is to develop trust in your gut instincts and follow their direction. For many years, I silenced my fears by compulsive overeating or binge eating on sweets and carbohydrates. Then I felt bad or guilty, which caused me to fall deeper into binging, gaining weight, and used these feelings like a stick to beat myself up while confirming to myself that I was unworthy of achieving my goals.
I share this with you for two reasons. The first reason is because I believe that you can relate to my story and my experience. The second reason is when I was researching the material for this article I asked myself a question. The question is, how I could write to you about this subject. I found that the answer is always found within the question. You have the answers to any problem that you might have. Think about that for a moment. I know that statement caused me to stop and pause when I first heard it. Ever since then, I have been testing that statement; that the answer is always found within the question. I have written several articles sharing the process of catching answers.
When I finally got to my breaking point, I asked God to help me establish healthy food choices and my food boundaries. Well, the answer was within the question. The answer was I had surrendered my ego; or I call my ego that part of my mind that wants to do whatever it wants without thinking about the consequences or my over all well- being. Another way to look at the ego is reading it as an acronym that says, ‘Easing-God-Out’.
The following questions are for you to answer and look for the answer within the question. The driving force behind boundaries with food is the desire. The following questions are designed to help you gain insight so that you can build a stronger and stronger desire. So let’s begin. Take a piece of paper or use a journal and write the following questions along with your answers. After answering them, share your questions and answers with a supportive friend or therapist.

1. Ask yourself, “When did you experience knowing that it was the right thing to do; while realizing what is right is also good for you. Did this help you do the right thing? Be specific.
2. Where are you when it comes to boundaries? Do you understand setting and maintaining is right?
3. How often does your pain help you see that something is good for you? How has your pain added to your realization that boundaries are good for you?
4. Ask yourself, ”Why should I expect to have to fight for my growth?”
5. What specific things do you think or believe you have to do to work out or work on your spiritual consciousness of yourself-image?
Yes, you desire a better relationship with your food, a healthy diet, and healthy lifestyle. However, it doesn’t just magically happen without some work. We often in today’s world think that world owes us an immediate gratification. This doesn’t work. Because when we start doing boundary work with food we will begin to deal with a war like situation. There will be skirmishes, battles, disputes, and losses. Please read question four again.
What can help, is to say to yourself, ”I am worth it because God loves me. I am Soul.” I have another very important tip to empower you, and to help you have spiritual insight, but it doesn’t come overnight. You have to develop it like any other skill or muscle. So what I’m going to share is a word that you can chant or sing that can help uplift you, calm you, and help you gain spiritual insight. It is the word that is an ancient word for God. Sing it with love and with reference. Look for the light, and listen for the inner sounds of all life. The word is HU in hu-man.