via  http://huckart.blogspot.com/2010/03/monster-closet.html

When you have an uncomfortable feeling, do you sometimes reach for food in order to make yourself feel better? This is understandable. It’s not fun to have an uncomfortable feeling and it makes sense that we want to move away from pain towards pleasure.

At some point in our life, eating was the best strategy we had for coping. But emotional eating hurts us. While turning to food may help in the short run, in the long run, our uncomfortable feelings eventually return and we will need to keep eating and eating in order to keep them at bay.

Unfortunately, the more we suppress our feelings with food, the more we come to fear our feelings. Our feelings end up becoming like monsters in the closet and we become terrified of opening up the closet door. Eating keeps the closet door shut. We never get the chance to experience what feelings really feel like or what they really are here for. We eat, distracting ourselves, and never discover if there actually is a monster in the closet. Or if what we think is a monster is something entirely different.

But all feelings are here for a reason.

And, if we let them, all feelings that arise will pass away. We don’t need to act on a feeling just because it is here. Instead, we can explore the feeling and let it run its course.

Some of our feelings have messages for us and, if we sit with the feeling, those messages become clear. Some feelings just need to be felt and they will naturally move through us if we let them.

To get more comfortable with your feelings, become curious about what a feeling actually is.

Next time you have an uncomfortable feeling, rather than thinking about it, locate the feeling in your body. Place a hand over the place you find it. What is the intensity level? Breathe. Tell yourself, “This is just a feeling. I’m going to explore it for a little while.”

Is the feeling a tightness in your chest, a queasiness in your belly, or a burning on your face? What does this feeling feel like in your body? What are its dimensions? If you focus on it, does it change over time?

As you’re watching the feeling, say to yourself, “This is interesting.” Invite curiosity in by asking yourself, “I wonder how long this feeling will last.”

Continue to breathe into the feeling. Spend a few minutes more watching it.

Notice any thoughts and fears you have about the feeling. Are you thinking, “This will last forever,” “I can’t stand this feeling,” or “I must eat to get rid of this feeling.” See if you can let these thoughts go and just notice the feeling itself. Critical and fearful thoughts will only exacerbate the intensity of the feeling while relaxing into the feeling might help ease it or allow it to move through you more quickly.

Practice being with your feelings for a few minutes at a time without reaching for food. Don’t expect that the feeling will disappear immediately. It might ebb and flow over time, this is natural. The goal here is to practice getting comfortable with a feeling rather than fearing it.

Remind yourself that if you need to, you can always eat, but by doing this exercise for a few minutes at a time, you will experiment with exploring the feeling. The more you practice, the easier it will become to be with your feelings rather than reaching for food when you’re not hungry.