The women’s majlis: Conquering chocolate one block at a time

I love chocolate. No, I was married to chocolate. I indulged in different types, from those that you find at grocery shops for Dh2 to exquisite tastes shipped in from abroad. And sometimes when you love something so much, you couldn't possibly imagine that a day will come when that same thing that you love could hurt or even kill you.

It all started two years ago. I was having one of those crazy months, when I bought boxes of chocolate for my office, and I would indulge in a few pieces every day. Soon enough, it was more than a few pieces, and I ran out of boxes. I have a great metabolism, so I ate away with no worry about adding any extra pounds to my figure. But then something happened. My heart raced. I felt like I was running a marathon when I was just seated in my office. I thought I was stressed. Chocolate was the last cause to cross my mind. I decided to take a break away from work. I thought that the extra hours of sleep every day might do the trick.

I travelled to London and I couldn't be more relaxed. I was surrounded by friends and family, and yet still felt my racing heartbeat. I visited a physician, who, after a few interrogatory questions and a couple of tests, came to the conclusion that the cause of my problem had to do with caffeine intake. Since I don't drink coffee, he told me to cut back on chocolate completely as I had developed a kind of allergy towards it.

I remember leaving his office wishing that he had told me to stop eating anything else but chocolate. “I could live my life without cucumbers,” I said to myself – but there was no going back.

The first few weeks without chocolate were difficult. My friends stopped eating chocolate in front of me; when I passed the chocolate and candy aisle at the supermarket, I walked faster. Chocolate’s withdrawal from my life made me sad.

I thought that I wouldn't last. “I will break at one point,” I told myself. Not being able to have chocolate bothered me. I thought of all the people who were in a far more critical situations than I was; people with no access to basic necessities such as water, shelter or medicine, and there I was, so spoiled thinking that my life was coming to an end because of chocolate.

After my chocolate incident, I came to realise that being able to control the situation was all in my mind. Happiness and contentedness are choices that we make. Once I planted the idea that I would be fine without chocolate, there was no room to think about it anymore. I discovered how willpower is a strength and how we can control our reaction to any situation instead of letting the situation control us. It all depends on how we want to live our lives.

As I type, there's a box of chocolates for my guests on the coffee table across from me. This is perhaps the first time that I've looked at it today. Do I miss it? Yes, but I can live equally happy without it.

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer based in Abu Dhabi. Follow her on Twitter: @manar_alhinai

If you are an Emirati woman who has a good story to tell or an important issue to debate, contact Shireena Al Nowais on salnuwais@thenational.ae.

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