I happened upon a friend of mine who was researching food addiction. She ran across this website with a quiz that offered to tell me whether or not I was addicted to food.<\/p>\n

Now, I’m not the most serene\u00a0person you will ever meet. If I have a bad headache for long enough, then according to my anxiety level, I have cancer. No, I’m not exaggerating. In light of this information, taking a quiz about whether or not I am addicted to food seems like a great idea…right?<\/p>\n

Addicted to Food and\u00a0the Panic<\/h2>\n

There were 20 questions on this quiz. As my friend and I read through the list, we kept answering “yes.” Seriously, to every single question.<\/p>\n

Oh my word<\/em>, I thought. How could I be addicted to food and not know it? How could my therapist of 11 years seriously not tell me this?<\/em><\/p>\n

I guess on some level, I figured I wasn’t really addicted to food. Have I used food as a coping mechanism? Oh yeah, absolutely. Have I always struggled with my weight? Sure. Have I binged in the past on a regular basis? Yep. Do I have a distorted body image thanks to childhood sexual abuse<\/a>? Oh yeah.<\/p>\n

But addicted to food? No.<\/p>\n

I Panicked and Then Made Jokes<\/h2>\n

However, the thing about anxiety is that it doesn’t respond to reason<\/strong>. I knew that after 11 years, my therapist and I would have worked on food addiction if it was an issue for me.<\/p>\n

The panic didn’t care. It bloomed in my chest. My heart raced and I could not focus. To try and head off a full-blown panic attack, I started to make jokes – not about food addiction, but about how I get my low-self-esteem-self into trouble taking online quizzes.<\/p>\n

And an article for Sweatpants & Coffee was born! Plus,\u00a0I had therapy the very next day – oh, timing is everything – and I incorporated our conversation into the article. Along with one of the BEST guided meditations you can EVER take (if you don’t mind swears…)<\/p>\n

Here’s an excerpt of Anxiety and How I Was Addicted to Everything<\/em><\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you do it right, you can be addicted to everything.<\/em><\/p>\n

By \u201cit,\u201d I mean taking online quizzes. I have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, depression, and \u2013 wait for it \u2013 low self-esteem. I tend to avoid rejection. I\u2019m attracted to low-risk situations in which I get the answer \u201cyes\u201d on a regular basis.<\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no better place to get a \u201cyes\u201d than online quizzes. Some great examples:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you too dramatic for your own good?\u201d Yes. Shocker, I know.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you a real bro\u2019s bro?\u201d Yes. So I\u2019m not a dude. What.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you addicted to food?\u201d Yes. Wait, what?<\/em><\/p>\n

I tucked that tidbit away from my therapist, with whom I have been meeting for eleven years. At my next counseling appointment, I said, \u201cI\u2019m addicted to food and you didn\u2019t even bother to tell me?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Go here to read the rest of the article\u00a0Anxiety And How I Was Addicted To Everything<\/em> over at Sweatpants & Coffee!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I happened upon a friend of mine who was researching food addiction. She ran across this website with a quiz that offered to tell me whether or not I was addicted to food. Now, I’m not the most serene\u00a0person you will ever meet. If I have a bad headache for long enough, then according to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n