How to Allow An Urge

The key to stopping your brain from going down and down the neural pathway of overeating is to remove the reward, but NOT by resisting the urge and pushing it down.  When we do that, the urge just gets stronger.

So the way to stop overeating is to start to pay attention – to notice the urge – and then to allow the urge rather than resisting it.

Resisting is what we are usually told do to, but it doesn’t work, as the urge just gets stronger.  Plus it requires willpower, and research shows we only have a limited amount of willpower.

What you have to do instead is ALLOW the urge.

An urge is just a thought/feeling combination.  A thought can’t hurt you, and you can feel any feeling without permanent damage.  So the next time you feel an urge, instead of reinforcing it with a reward or pushing it away, get curious and really mentally move toward it.  Open up to it.  Close your eyes and feel the feeling in your body.  Is it hard or soft?  Fast or slow?  When you visualize it in your mind’s eye, what color is it?

When you observe the feeling, you instantly get a bit of relief – a bit of detachment from the feeling.  And if you can just allow the urge and feel the feeling, you’ll feel it will pass within just a few seconds to minutes. 

Allowing the urge without answering it actually causes the neural pathway to become “grown over”.  If you allow enough urges, they will stop coming altogether.