I know I mostly write about health, but today I wanted to write about an aspect of health we often times neglect- MENTAL HEALTH. Wikipedia defines this as "a level of psychological
well-being, or an absence of a
mental disorder." When we think about healing our bodies, why do we so easily neglect this area of health?
The reason I wanted to focus on this today, is because I have personally noticed that having a disorder state in any area of my life brings about stress, which not only affects my physical body, but introduces mental conflicts, creating additional obstacles to a healthy lifestyle. This can be a downward spiral into self-sabotage and guilt.
The important thing to realize is that stress is a response, and therefore the way to relieve it, is to identify the stressor, and nip it in the bud. Yes, there will be times when a situation is out of our control, but it's important to know the things we can control, and to make sure we give ourselves the power to change them.
A very good friend of mine tells me that when she is angry or upset, she cleans the house. That cleaning for her is a way to gain control. So what methods do each one of us have to help us cope with stressful situations. This is a HUGE pitfall a lot of people have when it comes to food.
Stress causes physiological changes in our body that make us feel un-eased. Turning to comfort foods is a temporary fix, which not only keeps us from being healthy, but also keeps us from dealing with the things that are causing us to loose control- a vicious cycle.
I work in an office with no windows, and by the time I leave work, the sky is dark, not to mention that the weather has been cold and gloomy causing me to just want to stay indoors. One of my main goals this month was to incorporate a daily routine of exercise, but the very thought of going out for a walk made me start shivering all over.
Add to that the fact that I was eating ONLY RAW food for almost a month, and although I know I was being healthy, had a lot more energy, was sleeping better, and was slimming down-- I didn't care. I was cold, I was sad, I was angry! Trying to escape, I booked a weekend trip to Miami, which seemed like a great idea, except I packed all the negative feelings along with me.
I arrived to a sunny Florida, however my mind was still stuck in cold New York. All I wanted to do was soak in the sun, and I ended up getting sun burnt. I booked a day at a Spa, and all day lounged out by the pool and although the hotel had many healthy options, my mind kept rationalizing "you're on vacation", and I steered clear of the healthy green juices, the delicious salads and the raw vegan lasagna. What did I have? The white egg omelett with bloody mary, a side of fries with two (splenda) mojitos, and for dinner the turkey burger with a dirty martini. Oh, how I wish I had a rewind button.
Yes, I got away, and I escaped for a couple of days, but in the end I had to return to cold NY. Not feeling any better, and maybe feeling a little worse for steering off track. Especially because I know that the food I ate would not have been as pleasurable as the food I really wanted to get. I was conflicted about what I wanted and what I thought I deserved.
Yes now I'm back, and I'm starting back on course, but I know that there are things I need to deal with in my personal life that a vacation is not going to fix for me. It's time to deal with the stress and simplify my life, so that I can get through this nasty winter (which wasn't horribly bad climate wise) and plan my success for the spring!
I just wanted to write this because no one is perfect, and the most important thing on a path to success, is to identify our errors, and quickly get back on the path which leads us to our true selves!
