Create Space
The work of relearning to feed yourself requires physical space. A space that invites you to sit down, relax, learn, move through hard parts. You will need space somewhere in your living spaces to hear messages from your body. Ideas for how to do this:
Find your table. Clear it off completely to start. Put everything in a box or folder and out of your sight. Label it "return to sort through it when I have the bandwidth".
Picnic style is always a fun option if you don't have a table. You only need a clear space to eat and a place to sit. Grass, boxes when moving, sand, dock, bench.
Clear a small space in your work area if you are not able to step completely away from the space. Move papers, turn your phone over and close or turn off your computer for at minimum 10-15 minutes to feed yourself, ideally 30 minutes or more.
Create a calm physical space that invites you to return to it for a meal by yourself. For those of you that have done meal support in my office, consider the table, the sounds, the safety in the space, the colors.
Choose sounds that are peaceful or soothing to you. Build up to eating in quiet.
A space to sit.
Check in with all five senses about the spaces you are feeding yourself in. Do you like what you see, hear, smell, taste and feel? Can you hear your body's appetite cues and messages here?
Once you have been practicing for a bit, make this space look and feel like you! Set the table, find a table cloth you love, add a flower, an unscented candle, your affirmations for this work, the possibilities are endless.
Allow this recovery work to happen bit by bit as you are able. Set expectations that your ideas and needs for this space will be ever changing. Check out my pinterest mood board "Create Space" for some ideas. Talk to your team about getting meal support in an office or in your home for more help with this.