Q is for Quiet Mind

When the mind is agitated, food is the fastest and most available intervention most people have. It works, briefly, which is exactly why the habit is so durable. The relief is real; it is just short.

If you take away the food without providing another way to quiet the mind, you have removed a coping tool and left the underlying agitation in place. That rarely holds. You need a replacement, not just a prohibition.

The replacements are unglamorous and they work: breathing, a short walk, silence, ten counted breaths, time outdoors, sleep. None of them are as fast as a cookie. All of them last longer.