Today marks the celebration of an interesting day. Today, August 2, 2016, is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. In the past, I would’ve lobbied to make it a national holiday. Now, my feelings are more mixed.

I don’t know if I’ve talked about this already, but I love to eat. I lost some weight a few years ago and I’m surprised that I’m keeping the weight off, because I frequently want to eat huge portions of all kinds of foods. Frequently, these foods aren’t the healthiest food choices, either, so I have to deal with that as well.

I’m finding that losing weight is not just a matter of physically losing weight. It’s also a psychological process. Ever since I started losing weight, I’ve had to re-evaluate my relationship with food. I wonder if it’s similar to the way people face alcohol abuse or drug abuse. I’m lucky that I’ve never struggled with those things. I’m not sure that people can be addicted to food, and I know people have debated this topic.

But I do know that I haven’t always had the healthiest relationship with food. If was bored, I would eat. If I was upset, I’d eat. I’d eat huge meals just because it was mealtime and I thought I was supposed to eat like that. But even if I ate, I was still bored. I usually more upset because I ate out of emotion, not out of hunger.

Joining a weight-loss program really helped me. I learned that talking with others can really help solve problems. Treatment for drug and alcohol problems attempts to do the same. After all, these addiction treatments often feature meetings or therapy sessions that allow people to compare stories and share tips about how to cope with their problems.

Seeking treatment with others can help remind us that we’re not alone. It remind us that ice cream sandwiches are a good occasional treat, but not a necessity.