Why is mindful eating so hard?

Food may be a traumatic trigger. Smells, tastes, sensations, etc.. may trigger thoughts or memories of a time we felt threatened. It may be directly related to the food, such as something that made us sick. OR it may be related to another incident that happened while we happened to be tasting or smelling a similar food. In response, our body sends off a cascade of alarms that trigger our body to self-protect. We might panic or drift off into distraction or thoughts that our mind brings up because it is trying to keep us safe.

And unfortunately, that's only one reason that mindful eating is hard…