At its heart, Focusing is a gentle and compassionate way to turn your attention inward and listen to your body’s wisdom.
When you’re struggling with junk food, there’s often a feeling in your body that comes up before the craving. Focusing is the practice of noticing and being with that feeling. It’s a way to befriend what’s happening inside you.
How Focusing Works
For so many of us, the instinct is to run away from discomfort—to push down feelings, distract ourselves, or numb out.
But Focusing teaches us that our bodies are always communicating with us, and those uncomfortable feelings aren’t the enemy. They’re messengers.
It’s not about trying to fix anything, but about creating a safe space within yourself to just be with whatever comes up without judgment.
Think of it this way: you have different parts of you inside. There’s the part that gets anxious, the part that’s a perfectionist, the part that just wants to hide under the covers.
Instead of fighting with these parts or trying to get rid of them, Focusing-based Parts Work is about building a relationship with them.
You learn to access a quiet, open place within yourself called Presence from which you can bring a kind and curious attention to those inner parts.
When you can connect with your inner landscape from this place of Presence, you begin to notice that your body has a natural, forward momentum toward what is right for you.
It’s a way of healing your relationship with yourself, one gentle moment at a time. It allows you to become your own compassionate companion, guiding yourself back to wholeness.
How It Helps with Cravings
It’s easy to feel like cravings are the enemy. They can feel overwhelming and completely out of control, and we often try to fight them, push them away, or just pretend they aren’t there. But
Focusing helps you see that a craving isn’t something to be conquered. It’s actually a message from a part of you that’s trying to get your attention.
This is where the real power of Attunement comes in. Instead of getting into a tug-of-war with yourself, you learn to pause and get curious about the feeling behind the craving.
You turn your gentle attention inward and ask, “What is this feeling about?” You might discover that the strong urge for a certain food is actually a signal for loneliness, a need for comfort, or a way to avoid a stressful situation.
By listening, you are giving that part of you the attention it truly needed.
When you acknowledge and sit with that underlying feeling, it begins to soften. You’re no longer just reacting to an old pattern; you’re responding to a genuine need.
This practice helps you build a more compassionate and honest relationship with yourself, which is the most powerful tool you can have when you’re changing your habits.
You stop fighting and start listening, which naturally shifts your relationship with the craving itself.