I know I am being a whimp but...

Thanks Maura.  I appreciate it. I am giving myself credit for not picking up the food and the keyboard instead.

Nicole,

Thanks for being real. And so sorry you have these medical issues in your family right now. It definately makes it hard to cope. And no matter what we KNOW we should do, we often make the wrong choices. Hell, a bad hair day can send me into bad eating habits, and I am not kidding.

Thanks for coming here, sharing and reminding yourself and others that we are ALL human, very few of us REALLY have it together and we all fight the same food battles.

Hi Nicole,
I'm so sorry to hear your are struggling at this time.  Being married to a therapist I have learned that yes those of you in that profession are therapists, however, first and foremost you are HUMAN.  Being a therapist is your profession and no you do not have to wear that hat 24/7.  I know how much Gene struggles with food and eating.  We have had discussions for hours about those struggles.  Like he'll tell me he knows better, he understands the reason he reaches for food, but in the end there are times he cannot control or gain control of the food and goes on those binges.  I have had to learn that there is absolutely nothing I can do to intervene when this happens but I'm here if and when he's ready to talk about it.  When he is I listen and we discuss it.  I try to understand what it is that will set him off that he will eat until he is sick and still wants to force more food into his system when it will not fit.  He is good at being able to talk about it - after the fact - but when he is in that frenzy he can't stop and won't stop.  I made the mistake of trying to intervene one time and found it only made things worse so I now wait until he is ready to talk it through.  If you ever need someone to listen that understands you are a therapist as well as human I can be available.  You take care of yourself, I will keep you and your family in my prayers.

Ida

So - when you originally posted this I was in my own personal place of "yukk" and I didn't think that I could properly respond.  Now - as it is 4:48 AM and I am again, NOT sleeping, I feel more clear headed and wanted to say I love you!  As an educator -  I try to not only teach my kids math, but how to be human.  They have helped me all along this journey - I truly feel that I reach each kid by being honest about my limitations.  I have also had several therapists in my life - and the ones that meant the meant the most, and were the most effective, were the ones who "get it"  Whatever that was at the time, marriage issues, raising kids, weight issues, etc....when they gave me that look of, "yup - I soooo understand" I found that I was much more willing to open up and do the internal work.

It must be very difficult to know that some of your clients are on here reading about your struggles, but I believe that that just makes you a normal person in lieu of someone who tells people what they want to hear.  I don't know if it is right or wrong, or if it just IS, but to really trust someone is to see what they have struggled with as well.

And....on a completely different note - the only thing you can really do for your mom AND your pap is to continue to love them.  As you know - my mom had cancer for four years and we talked A LOT - that was a gift she gave me, the ability to be honest when things were not so great.  When the cancer finally won, I knew that there was not anything that went unsaid.  I had no regrets about how we lived our lives as mother and daughter.  And you certainly know how I miss her like crazy - but there are things in our lives we have no control over, and as difficult as it is, do the research and talk with them about how they are living their lives when their bodies are NOT cooperating as they hoped.  I used to ask my mom - how is it that you are still so upbeat when you wake up every morning living in a body that was not doing what it should be doing, her response was that this was the hand she was dealt, she had a great life with great people, and she wasn't ever going to give up.  And she did not.

Thanks for putting this out here - I hoped that I helped in some way as your just saying it helped me in so many ways!  You always do!  I truly value you as a person and a WLS friend - not as a therapist, but as a person who again, "gets it"

thank you and I love you too. I know that you GET IT too. Thank you for your friendship and your support. Hang in there through your recovery, I think you will find that recovery from plastics is a journey as well full of hills and valleys. You will have good days and bad but in the end it will be worth it.

Nicole--I am so sorry you have all this going on right now! I love ya! Sendng good thoughts and prayers your way...You are a strong woman and you will make it through this!! (((((HUGS)))) If you need anything I am here for you!!

Much luv!!!
Laura