Do you “sneak” a piece or two (or many more) of candy at Halloween? Or a slice of cake at a birthday party? Does the desire for a late-night snack turn into a spiral of emotional eating and overeating? Guilt and shame around eating something we feel we shouldn’t prevents us from actually enjoying the item we desire. To make matters worse, guilt and shame can then drive additional food cravings. These “secondary cravings” are no longer about the original simple desire to eat the food, but instead use food to numb the uncomfortable feelings. This pattern of an adversarial relationship with food can be a hard to break!
Tag: Self-Care
Shifting the focus from diet and weight loss towards improving overall health
If you starve yourself to be thin will this make you healthier? Can a number on the scale determine an individual’s health status? Health and weight are related concepts that can directly affect each other, but it’s overly simplistic to think that weight decides an individual’s health. Studies often site “weight” as the culprit for many of the world’s health problems but given the multitude of variables that are difficult to control, it’s hard to prove a particular number on the scale is the key factor. Yes, unhealthy behaviors will lead to weight gain, and there are many people who have weight-related health problems. But not everyone with extra weight is unhealthy.
5 Steps to Body-Positivity and Self-Love: Changing the Negative Self-Talk
In a society enthralled with selfies, surrounded by images portraying what appears to be the “ideal” body size and shape, it’s easy to feel negative about the parts of our appearance that fall outside this cookie-cutter standard. Instead of celebrating differences, body-positivity, and focusing on health; the number on the scale can become the deciding factor for mood and self-worth. Negative self-talk and self-loathing don’t help. Food ends up being viewed as an adversary instead of a life-sustaining and nurturing gift to be enjoyed. Instead of being amazed at the way our body works and how nourishment helps it function, a complicated pattern develops that can include food restriction, mindless eating, cravings, shame, self-loathing, and overeating. No one wins in this trap and stress only makes it that much more tricky. Positive self-talk and self-love are possible!
How to Stay Positive During Quarantine: Fun Distractions to Lift You Up
If eliminating self-care could cure or prevent COVID19 infections, I wouldn’t be writing this post. Running ourselves into the ground won’t end the tragedies resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Quite the contrary, prioritizing our health, taking part in enjoyable activities to help us stay positive during quarantine, and making time for meaningful connections will minimize the emotional destruction. Many of us are feeling short on ideas of things to do during quarantine that will assist us in staying positive. Or we lack the extra energy required to figure out how to stay positive. Here is the list for you!
Building Resilience to Balance our Fears and Anxiety about COVID19
Beyond handwashing, wearing a mask, and keeping a physical distance from others to minimize the risk of COVID19 infection, building resilience can help us manage the stress and carry us forward to the time when life eventually returns to “normal.” Anxiety about COVID19 can become all-encompassing and overwhelming without intentional efforts to balance our fears. Bonus: Increasing resiliency can be fun and doesn’t result in dry, cracked hands!
Gifts Brought by the COVID-19 Virus: Connecting with Others, Resilient Reminders, Recovery, and Hope
This crisis has painfully peeled away some of life’s superficial layers, helping us see what matters. People feel vulnerable, and life seems more fragile…because it is. Surprisingly, the coronavirus pandemic that has changed our world, bringing fear and devastation to many communities, has also delivered a few gifts. How ironic that the COVID19 virus that drives people apart, scattering people into their homes, and keeping them standing 6 feet away with faces covered by a mask, has also been the conduit for bringing people together. Connecting with others reminds people they are resilient, supporting recovery and hope.
“Embrace the Suck” How the Power of Positive Thinking Can Turn Your Day Around
Tonight, on the way home from work I was sitting in stopped traffic, wet from being caught in a downpour, and feeling hungry. I wasn’t super excited about my predicament until I noticed the bumper sticker on the car in front of me:
“Embrace the suck”
I wouldn’t normally give a bumper sticker much thought but tonight I was going nowhere fast and had the time. It made me crack up. What a great way to knock me out of a negative moment. Why fight it? It wasn’t going to help me get home quicker.