Green eggs and ham
I could not, would not, on a boat.
I will not, will not, with a goat.
I will not eat them in the rain.
I will not eat them on a train.
Not in the dark! Not in a tree!
Not in a car! You let me be!
I do not like them in a box.
I do not like them with a fox.
I will not eat them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them ANYWHERE!I do not like green eggs
and ham!
I do not like them,
Sam-I-am.–Dr. Seuss
There are more than a dozen interpretations of “Green Eggs and Ham” out there (just google it, you’ll see), but I’m pretty sure that mine isn’t one of them. When I hear the rhyme, I think of all the rules that individuals with EDs have surrounding food. Sometimes we’ll get a new patient who is not going to eat the meal if any of the following are true:
- One food is touching another food.
- Something requires a spoon.
- The food can’t be picked apart or cut into tiny pieces.
- There are caloric drinks (milk, juice, etc).
- Something is “not warm enough.”
- A piece of fruit has a spot on it (even a microscopic spot).
- The food can’t be eaten in a particular order.
- The room is too hot or cold.
- She’s sitting at the end of the table.
…and I could go on. I will definitely confess to doing some of these things. I hate juice and/or milk. My point is, though, that said new patient is against eating the food here, there, or anywhere. She’s wrapped up in the eating disorder and not even considering any of the above.
While I totally sympathize, part of me can’t help thinking “Well…. actually, you will eat your green eggs and ham – and you’ll (learn to) like it.” That’s kind of how treatment is. You come in screaming, “No no no! I will not I will not I will not! Not in a box or a house or even in the dark!” And you learn (or slowly realize) that not only are you going to eat them in the dark, but with a goat in a tree while it rains as well.
Ha! I love this! When I entered treatment I’d read about food rituals, but because my own food rituals were subtler and because the word “ritual” makes me think of a process rather than rules, I didn’t understand that all those rules were exactly that–food rituals. Everything eaten in a certain order, no caloric drinks (except for booze), tearing apart of foods with “extra” carbohyrates (wraps, sandwiches, etc.), etc. And even the bingeing had a ritualistic aspect to it. Really they are all symptoms of telling Sam-I-Am to kiss off, but of course I didn’t see it that way at the time.
ha ha.
Oh my gosh, I was thinking the exact same thing the other day when reading that passage (haha, not for fun–I was looking for a story to read with a little girl I work with). I was like, “Hmmm, that sounds like my rules.” When I was little, I always worried about the characters not getting to eat their food, especially after it had been in all those places….haha, oh me as a child, should have known!
Absolutely LOVE your analogy at the end!!
You’re completely right about treatment and the shove you get whether asked for or not.
Katya