Understanding the Starvation Response for Type 6
As a Type 6 (The Loyalist), your starvation response may be linked to:
- Anxiety around food choices, second-guessing what and when to eat.
- Over-reliance on external authority, feeling uncertain about trusting your body’s signals.
- Fear of not having enough food or making the “wrong” decision, leading to hoarding, overeating, or strict rules around eating.
- Doubting your ability to stay on track, worrying that you will fail or lose control.
Because Type 6s often seek security and certainty, hunger may feel unpredictable and unsettling. You may experience fear that you won’t be able to handle hunger well, that you’re not following the “right” approach, or that you might unknowingly sabotage yourself.
The Virtue: Courage
The virtue of Type 6 is Courage—the ability to trust yourself, stay steady in the face of uncertainty, and act from inner faith rather than fear. Courage helps you feel safe within yourself, trust your body, and respond to hunger with confidence instead of anxiety.
How to Apply Courage to the Starvation Response
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Trust Your Own Inner Guidance
- Instead of looking for the perfect external plan or expert advice, practice listening to your own body’s cues.
- Say to yourself:
“I am capable of making the right choices for myself.”
“My body knows what it needs, and I can trust it.”
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Stay Grounded in the Present Moment
- Fear of future hunger or scarcity may cause you to overeat, hoard food, or eat in anticipation of future deprivation.
- Courage means trusting that there will be enough when you need it.
- When anxiety arises, pause and affirm:
“Right now, I have enough. Right now, I am okay.”
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Let Go of Worst-Case Thinking
- The Type 6 mind naturally anticipates problems—but hunger does not mean disaster.
- If your mind starts spinning with worries like, “What if I get too hungry later?” or “What if I’m not doing this right?”, pause and ask:
- “Is this fear real, or is my mind creating unnecessary anxiety?”
- “What would I do if I fully trusted myself in this moment?”
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Take Small, Brave Steps Instead of Freezing
- Fear might make you avoid eating until absolutely necessary, or it might cause panic eating when you feel uncertain.
- Instead of reacting from fear, pause, breathe, and take one small courageous step—like eating mindfully, checking in with your body, or releasing rigid control.
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Stop Seeking Absolute Certainty in Food Choices
- You may feel the need for a strict plan to feel safe, but courage allows you to handle a little flexibility without panic.
- Remind yourself:
“I don’t need a perfect answer—I just need to take the next right step.”
“Even if I don’t have all the answers, I can handle this moment.”
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Trust That Your Needs Will Be Met
- Fear of not having enough food or not getting it exactly right can lead to controlling behaviors or anxious eating.
- Courage means letting go of the need to control everything and believing that your body will get what it needs when it needs it.
- Repeat to yourself:
“I am safe. I have enough. I don’t have to figure everything out right now.”
Summary
By practicing courage, you can release anxiety around food, trust yourself, and let go of worst-case thinking. Instead of reacting to hunger with fear and doubt, courage allows you to stay present, act from self-trust, and know that you are capable of handling whatever comes next.