Tag Archive for: journaling

4 Coping Strategies to Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This is a difficult time for all of us. It’s the unknown. It’s scary. What will happen? How many people will be affected? How will my life change? What about my family, my elderly parents…

Of course, I’m talking about the Coronavirus pandemic that we are living through.

I’m not going to go into a whole list of things to decrease your risk of contracting COVID-19. I’m sure your inbox is full of those emails. And quite frankly, they make me even MORE nervous.

So in today’s blog, I want to focus on how you’re dealing with it emotionally. I received several messages from friends, family and clients who are turning to food to soothe their anxious feelings. The problem with doing this is that after they eat, they feel bad about themselves.

There are other ways to deal with your difficult emotions during these uncertain times. Read on…

What Are You Feeling?

The first step to managing your feelings without turning to food is to PAUSE and identify what you are feeling. Are you anxious, nervous, scared, depressed, lonely etc.? It’s important to put your finger on the exact emotion so you can figure out how to meet your true needs.

What Do You Need?

Once you’ve named the feeling (write it down, say it out loud…), now ask yourself what you need to manage that feeling. Perhaps it’s connecting with a friend or loved one. Or, maybe it’s a little fresh air to clear your mind. If you’ve been stuck in the house, then stepping out onto the front porch to breathe in the air and allow the sunshine to hit your face may make a world of a difference for you.

Take Action

Once you’ve identified your feelings and how you might be able to fill the real need you have (because it’s not food), now you’ll want to take action. It’s not enough to think about doing something, you must pull up the strength to actually do it.

4 Coping Strategies

Here are some things you can do to cope with your difficult emotions during this uncertain time:

  1. Deep Breathing: For me, this is number one. Whenever I feel some anxiety coming on, I stop what I am doing, close my eyes and breath in for a count of 4 and breath out for a count of 4. Try it!

 

  1. Meditate: Even if you’ve never meditated before, give it a shot. Download one of many apps to your phone, such as Calm or Headspace, and put on one of the short meditations. It’ll help you calm down in the moment.

 

  1. Journal: Take out a pen and paper (if you don’t have a pretty journal) and allow yourself to write, freeform. No editing – just let your thoughts and feelings float onto the paper. It’s so important to get out of your head and by writing, you are releasing these difficult emotions.

 

  1. Call a Friend: With the new regulations of self-quarantine, curfews and being told to “stay home”, it can get very lonely. If you are feeling alone, pick up the phone and call a friend or loved one. There’s nothing like hearing the voice of someone you care about to help you get through this period. It’s not the same as texting, I promise!! Better yet, Facetime with each other so you can see one another and give each other a virtual hug as well.

I hope these suggestions have helped! I’ll be taking my own advice as well.

Please note, if you are having trouble coping, please reach out to a therapist or call 911. There is help for you!

 

 

Woman suffering from stress grimacing in pain

5 Strategies to Deal with Top Holiday Stressors

The holidays are such a nice time of year but the stress that comes along with it, well, THAT I can do without. Maybe being around all your relatives and the crowds feels overwhelming. Perhaps finding the right gifts for people is anxiety producing. Maybe, just maybe, you get even tense knowing that this time of year is “supposed” to be joyous, yet all you feel is anxiety.

 

Top Holiday Stressors

The first step to truly enjoying your holiday season is identifying your stressors. The two top stressors for many people are money and family!

 

Money Stress:

It may come as no surprise that one of the top stress-inducers identified during the holiday season is worry over money. Since the beginning of November, you have been constantly bombarded with deals, steals and the newest gadgets. You might feel pressure to work overtime to be able to afford all the presents on your family’s wish list. However, it’s important that you take a step back and remind yourself what this time of the year is really about – togetherness. While your loved ones and friends do appreciate your thoughtful gifts, it’s really the thought that counts. Show them you love and appreciate them in other ways, they will cherish that for a lifetime.

 

Family Stress:

Another stressor may be constantly being around your extended family. This time of year, it seems that there are no shortage of family gatherings. Your weekends are probably jam-packed with holiday parties, leaving you very little time to do what you enjoy doing. While this time of year is all about being with family, you cannot forget to take care of yourself as well. Carve out time every day to do something that makes you feel fulfilled and that meets your needs of being taken care of.

 

5 Strategies to Manage Top Stressors Without Food

Unfortunately, some people may turn to food to help deal with these holiday stressors. Do you?

 

If so, please know that while food can be one way you decide to manage uncomfortable emotions, it becomes a problem when food is your only go-to coping mechanism.

 

1) Move Your Body:

Choose a movement that you enjoy doing and find time to do it at least three times a week. Regular movement has been shown to reduce stress levels. If you fall short on time and you cannot make it to that spin or kickboxing class, try going for a walk around your neighborhood or do a yoga video at home.

 

2) Connect and Talk:

Talk to a family member or friend that you trust. If you are feeling overwhelmed, a good venting session can make you feel better. Just talking through your feelings can provide relief.

 

3) Sleep it Off:

Aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. You are probably running on empty more frequently this month than you do the rest of the year. Sleep is important for your health, try to go to bed an hour earlier and avoid hitting snooze in the morning. Interrupting your sleep with multiple alarms can interfere with your body’s natural wake mechanisms, leaving you feeling exhausted throughout the day.

 

4) Breathe through It:

When you feel a stressful moment coming on, excuse yourself and take a few minutes to relax and breathe. Search the internet or download an app to your phone that will guide you through stress-reducing breathing techniques. Meditation is also a useful relaxation technique that you can do anywhere!

 

5) Journal Your Thoughts:

Pull out a pen and paper and start to write. Don’t edit. Just let your thoughts come out of your head onto the paper. Let it flow! You will feel an almost immediate relief.

 

Grab these FREE 20 Emotional Eating Journaling Prompts to help you get started!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If even after engaging in a stress-reducing exercise or talking with a friend, you still feel that you want the soothing power of food, that’s okay! Put your desired food choice on a plate and sit down to eat it. Stay fully aware and conscious as you are eating. Savor each bite, stay mindful and present with the food, and your feelings. Once you’ve finished, take a deep breath and move on. The key here is to not move out of your body when you are eating so this doesn’t become a full-on binge.

 

Let me know below which of these strategies will be your go-to!

3 Reasons to Start Journaling to Stop Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is eating for reasons other than hunger, such as using food to cope, numb or deal with a difficult emotion, thought or feeling. It’s usually born out of an unmet need, whether physical- such as fatigue, or emotional – such as sadness or loneliness.

 

For many, food is love, comfort, reward, or a reliable friend that won’t let you down.

 

Emotional eating is not a component of biological hunger, but instead is of emotional hunger. You’re longing for something, you have a void in your life, and you are filling it with food.

 

You may know exactly why you emotionally eat, or perhaps you don’t. Journaling can help you figure it out.

 

Journaling is verbalizing your feelings by writing them down and it’s very beneficial for your emotional well-being and to discover things that might have been buried for years.

 

3 Ways Journaling Can Help with Emotional Eating:

 

  1. Journaling allows you to express and release your feelings. By writing down your emotions, the intensity of those feelings goes from your body onto the paper and diminishes in time. You acknowledge them which enables you to release them.

 

  1. Journaling allows you to slow down and insert that pause, instead of impulsively reacting. This pause makes all the difference between whether your thought leads to impulsive eating or to reflection and consideration of maybe there’s a better path to take in that moment.

 

  1. Journaling replaces food. It can be used in the moment that are you feeling distressed and about to turn to food but instead, you pull out your pen and your note pad and you journal on the following prompt: “What am I feeling right now?” Put a name to your feeling and write it down. Just let your pen do the writing, don’t stop to edit, just write what you are feeling in that very moment. By writing down your feelings, you’re becoming more mindful and aware which is the first step in managing emotional eating.

 

When you turn to the journal during these difficult moments, you break the habit of turning to food automatically to deal with your strong emotions. Instead, you are replacing it with a healthier habit by asking yourself “okay, what do I need. I’ve identified my feelings, now what do I really need to feel better”.

The answer is usually not food. It may lie in connection, self-care, the need for support, to be nurtured. Journaling can help identify the real need.

 

Grab your free copy of: 20 Day Deep Dive Emotional Eating Journaling Prompts

 

 

Are You Feeding Your Stomach or Emotions?

Emotional eating quoteIf you are having one of those days where nothing seems to go right and all you want is something to make you feel better, what do you reach for?  Are you reaching for food?  If so, is that bag of chips really making you feel better?

 

“I had a long day and the only thing that will make me feel better is my favorite junk food!”

 

Does this sound like something you would say?  I have many clients that come to me seeking help in dealing with their emotional eating.  They find themselves eating when they are stressed, upset or bored, and they don’t feel satisfied afterwards. In fact, they feel guilty, ashamed and desperate.

 

I help my clients to realize they will not feel satisfied when they are feeding their emotions.

 

I want to help you understand this too.

 

Emotional eating is eating in response to feelings, not because you are physically hungry.

 

Eating away your emotions may make you feel better for an instant, but when the bag is empty you’re left with the same feelings of guilt, the discomfort of overeating, plus those original emotions you had in the first place.

Whether you are eating as a way to reward yourself for a job well done or trying to make yourself feel better after a rough day, this form of emotional eating can affect your mood and health long after the bag is empty.

 

To identify if you are emotionally eating, you should figure out what is driving your desire to eat.  Are you experiencing physical hunger or psychological hunger?

 

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • “How am I feeling? Am I upset, angry, tired or even happy? Could this be causing me to crave a certain food?”
  • “Do I usually use food for comfort?”
  • “Do I associate rewards with food?” Maybe you just received a promotion, is your first thought “I’ll celebrate with dessert tonight?”
  • “When was the last time I ate?” Natural hunger cues start to occur a couple of hours after you last ate.  If you just ate, you might not be experiencing physical hunger.

 

These habits can be hard to break and you will need to dig deep inside of you to figure out what you are truly feeling.  This isn’t always easy as sometimes it’s uncomfortable to feel your emotions.  I get it.

 

One way to deal with your emotions without food is to distract yourself.

 

Here are some tips you can try today to help you regain control over your emotions:

  • Go for a walk to get endorphins going and help you clear your mind.
  • Do yoga or meditation to clear your mind and help you relax.
  • Call or text a friend to talk about your day or vent, if needed.
  • Watch your favorite show for a good laugh.
  • Read a book to get someone else’s point of view.
  • Take a nap to regain energy.
  • Write how you are feeling in a journal.

 

Distractions may work for a short time.  Ultimately you must dig deeper to understand why you turn to food in hard times.

 

I am here to help you.  I can help you work out your emotions and teach you ways to deal with them that do not involve food.  I can teach you to listen to your body’s hunger cues and eat only when you are experiencing physical hunger.  Take care of yourself by being in tune with your emotions. Dealing with them now instead of letting them build up will benefit you and your overall health.

 

Contact me here if you’d like to chat.