• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Alcohol Addiction
    • Alcohol Addiction
    • Alcohol Detox
    • Alcohol Rehab
    • Alcoholism, Addiction And Recovery
    • Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
    • Get Help For Alcohol Addiction
    • Alcohol & Alcoholism
    • Stop Drinking Alcohol
    • Alcohol Detox At Home
    • Counselling For Alcohol Addiction
    • Alcohol Drinks Journal
    • Alcohol Units Guide
  • Drug Addiction
    • Drug Addiction
      • Drug Detox
      • Drug Rehab
    • Cocaine Addiction
      • Cocaine Detox
      • Cocaine Rehab
    • Cannabis Addiction
      • Cannabis Detox
      • Cannabis Rehab
    • Heroin Addiction
      • Heroin Detox
      • Heroin Rehab
    • Amphetamine Addiction
    • Crack Addiction
    • Crystal Meth Addiction
    • GHB Addiction
    • Ketamine Addiction
    • Mephedrone Addiction
    • Prescription Drug Addiction
    • Steroid Addiction
  • Helping Others
    • Help For My Addicted Husband
    • Help For My Wife
    • Help For My Son
    • Help For A Loved One
    • Help For My Daughter
    • Help For A Work Colleague
    • Help For A Friend
    • Help For Myself
  • Locations
  • Prescription Drugs
    • Prescription Drug Rehab
    • Prescription Drug Detox
    • Pregabalin Addiction
    • Hydrocodone Addiction
    • Oxycodone Addiction
    • Benzodiazepine Addiction
    • Fentanyl Addiction
    • Valium Addiction
  • Online Rehab
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
Help 4 Addiction Logo

Help 4 Addiction

Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation

Trustpilot

Call Us: 0203 955 7700

Get Rehab Prices Start Your Consultation
  • Alcohol Addiction
        • Alcohol Addiction
        • Alcohol Detox
        • Alcohol Rehab
        • Alcoholism, Addiction And Recovery
        • Get Help For Alcohol Addiction
        • Alcohol & Alcoholism
        • Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
        • Stop Drinking Alcohol
        • Alcohol Detox At Home
        • Counselling For Alcohol Addiction
        • Alcohol Drinks Journal
        • Alcohol Units Guide
  • Drug Addiction
        • Drug Addiction
          • Drug Detox
          • Drug Rehab
        • Cocaine Addiction
          • Cocaine Detox
          • Cocaine Rehab
        • Cannabis Addiction
          • Cannabis Detox
          • Cannabis Rehab
        • Heroin Addiction
          • Heroin Detox
          • Heroin Rehab
        • Amphetamine Addiction
        • Crack Addiction
        • Crystal Meth Addiction
        • GHB Addiction
        • Ketamine Addiction
        • Mephedrone Addiction
        • Steroid Addiction
        • Prescription Drug Addiction
  • Helping Others
        • Help For My Addicted Husband
        • Help For My Wife
        • Help For A Friend
        • Help For My Son
        • Help For My Daughter
        • Help For A Work Colleague
        • Help For A Loved One
        • Help For Myself
  • Locations
  • Prescription Drugs
        • Prescription Drug Rehab
        • Prescription Drug Detox
        • Benzodiazepine Addiction
        • Fentanyl Addiction
        • Oxycodone Addiction
        • Hydrocodone Addiction
        • Pregabalin Addiction
        • Valium Addiction
  • Online Rehab
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Treat Addiction With Kitchen Therapy

8th February 2018 by Nicholas Conn

Last updated on April 29th, 2022 at 01:58 pm

Treat Addiction With Kitchen Therapy

Make Love Not Fuel

In the same year, I began teaching cookery, I also began to train as a therapist.  The connection between these distinct modes of working with people quickly became apparent – ultimately it was all about love.

Not love in that reciprocal, entwined sense, but love in the sense of compassionate curiosity toward the experience of life.  It’s worth spending some time going back to the origins of the human relationship with being fed and being cared for, to explain the foundations of Kitchen Therapy and in particular, how it relates to my understanding and treatment of addiction.

Food is, in fact, our first experience of love (or its lack) in the world.  Deep down in the heart of our psyche, we will always feel the connection between being fed and being loved – whatever that means for each of us, in our unique experience.

 

Connecting Food With Love

Infants often make painstaking efforts to explain to new parents that it simply won’t be enough to feed them, whilst you watch TV or converse with someone else.  No, whilst you fill their bellies with nourishing milk, they need your eyes to fill their souls with loving kindness, nurturing both their physical and psychological growth, in one complete system of care.  However, for many of us, at either end of the mother-baby food chain, this vital communication is just unable to be heard, received or understood.  Nature’s beautifully crafted nursery is too often hijacked by a parent’s struggle with his or her own unmet needs, or by a disregard of Nature’s quiet wisdom.  Books and experts so often tell parents how to look after their young, missing the guidance that comes tucked inside the child itself…

Our Drug Of Choice

In a cruelly ironic attempt to understand our bonding behaviour during its earliest stages, a laboratory nursery was set up during a 1950’s series of experiments called Harlow’s Monkeys.  Infant Rhesus monkeys were offered milk from a wire receptacle, or water from a warm, soft ‘cuddly’ dispenser.  Harrowing scenes, that deliberately stressed the infant, saw the frightened creature dashing between the two surrogate mothers, neither one being able to meet his need for soothing.  Eventually, in desperation, they chose the soft place, the rock of being held over the hard place of being fed was the bottom line.  Of course, they were utterly torn, needing a real mother who would be able to offer both these essential elements of life – food and love.  Just like Harlow’s monkeys, when the loving connection and attention we humans need is lacking, it can become supplanted by more tangible physical fuels.  Herein lies the crucial miscommunication that shows the warped seed of many of our addiction stories: we cannot get enough of what we don’t need.  Hence the deeply dreadful feeling of isolation that accompanies a lonely binge with the drug of our ‘choice’.  What we really crave is the warmth of shared connection with one another.  The sustenance of shared connection is not over when the ‘meal’ is consumed, rather it continues to grow, powering our soul for its developmental path, as Nature intended.

As I begin work with clients, I first seek to discover their relationship with food, their first experience of love. Our stories of being fed, of making, eating and sharing of food, hold rich layers of narrative that stretch, like dreams, across the time and space of self.  Consider for a moment your favourite meal.  Do you like to cook this, or have it cooked for you?  What about food you hate?  Where do you remember first having this?  What sensations, thoughts and feelings arise…?  As we consider our emotional responses to our experience of food, and perhaps the people that come to mind, we can start to understand more about what we are really seeking as we are eating.

Canadian Jungian analyst, Marion Woodman has said we live in an addicted world.  I agree.  We feel something is missing inside and keep trying to fill the void with physical fuel of some sort.  Grabbing instant gratification from the two-dimensional experience of demand and supply, that leaves us strangely empty.  When I ask addicted clients about the feeling their drug of choice gives them “Comfort” is blatant, though telling refrain.  When we explore what is really comforting, in a lasting, true sense, what we arrive at is a sense of connection.  In mindfulness, this connection begins with the breath, which is both inside and outside, present and eternal, ‘mine’ yet shared.  In kitchen therapy, the connection begins with making a small and simple treat, for who my great-grandmother called your “inner man”.  It is taking time, and giving tender loving care to meet our need for comfort – finding food and love in the same place.

 

Nutrition Balanced with Nurture

By bringing a sense of attentive pleasure into the everyday making of cups of tea, jugs of minted water, omelettes laced with parsley and thyme, we create the delicacy of nutrition balanced with nurture.  Cooking is our first taste of alchemy, transforming the raw ingredients into the noble cooked dish, nourishing mind, body and soul.  It can be this crucial step of using our imaginations and capacity for self-care that we miss – even avoid – in seeking the ‘magic’ answer snatched ‘off the shelf’.  My clients often talk of the numbing effect when they engage with their substance of choice, there’s no thinking just an infant’s gratification.  Simple cooking engages our thoughtful imagination, helping us to discover the delicious rewards of intuitive play.  The sense of satisfaction and glowing pleasure in making oneself a genuine treat, one that others might enjoy too, connects us to ourselves, each other and indeed our world.  By returning to the beginning, our first love, we can rework our nurturing narratives, and slowly find our way back to our true selves.

Charlotte Hastings

Filed Under: Latest News

Sharing is Caring

About Nicholas Conn

Nicholas Conn is a leading industry addiction expert who runs the UK's largest addiction advisory service and is regularly featured in the national press, radio and TV. He is the founder and CEO of a drug and alcohol rehab center called Help4addiction, which was founded in 2015. He has been clean himself since 2009 and has worked in the Addiction and Rehab Industry for over a decade. Nick is dedicated to helping others recover and get treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. In 2013, he released a book 'The Thin White' line that is available on Amazon.

Primary Sidebar

  • FREE CALLBACK SERVICE

    We offer a free
    callback service 24/7

    Simply enter your number below
    and our addiction counsellors will call
    you back in a few minutes.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Articles

Things to Consider Before Choosing a Rehab Clinic in London

15th June 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

Steroid Abuse: Know the Signs

8th June 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

Have you Taken a Tramadol Overdose?

30th May 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

Am I Enabling My Addicted Loved One?

20th May 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

5 Ways to Tackle a Family Member with Addiction

13th May 2022 By Nicholas Conn Leave a Comment

Tags

Adderall addiction Alcohol Alcohol Allergy Alcohol Poisoning Alcohol Poisoning Treatment Brighton child addict cocaine Codeine coun detox Devon - Paignton Drug addiction drugs dry january England Essex - Brentwood family festive Halloween Hertford home detox Kent - Goudhurst ketamine librium London Magic Mushrooms meth Naloxone online rehab Pancreatitis party drugs porn Recovery rehab relapse self-care Sheffield signs staying sober Stoke On Trent teenagers tramadol xanax

Footer

Get Help Now

  • Phone 0203 955 7700 or enter your phone number and get a call back.

    FREE CALL BACK SERVICE 24/7

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Help 4 Addiction

Help 4 Addiction’s experienced support team are always on hand to offer you the most personal and cost effective options available for alcohol and drug addiction treatment

0203 955 7700
support@help4addiction.co.uk

Additional Links

  • Private Residential Rehab Clinics
  • Alcohol Addiction
  • Alcohol Rehab & Addiction Treatment
  • Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
  • Online Therapy
  • Detox from Home

Get Help Now

  • Phone 0203 955 7700 or enter your phone number and get a call back.

    FREE CALL BACK SERVICE 24/7

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

© 2022 Help 4 Addiction. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT