You Can Feel Your Feelings AND Still Nourish Your Body

The holiday season can be wonderful - eating a beautiful meal and spending time with loved ones. It can also be incredibly stressful - whether it be struggles with food and body, or worries about seeing certain family members.

You might be feeling many emotions - anger, sadness, fear, resentment, disgust, etc. - all of which may be exacerbated by the lack of control we may feel during these events. 

It may feel comforting to resort to finding any way to have some sort of control, and I have noticed people tend to try and find that comfort in controlling food and body.

Resorting to dieting, rigid eating rules, extensive exercise regimes, and labeling foods as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ may feel like a way to have control; unfortunately, it is a false sense of comfort.

While controlling food and body may ease anxiety symptoms for a short period of time, it will not resolve the actual underlying issues, or give you power over the person you have conflict with.

What we can do is take efforts to reduce our vulnerability to our emotions. These include:

-Drinking water and staying hydrated

-Engaging in regular joyful movement (I like to use the word ‘movement’ instead of ‘exercise’, because the latter can feel like a loaded term for some people)

-Avoid or minimize use of alcohol and other substances

-Practicing daily self-care (e.g., journaling, meditation, yoga)

-Getting adequate sleep (7-9 hours)

-Nourishing the body through balanced nutrition (I.e., balance also means there are no ‘bad’ foods)

-Taking necessary medications

-Participating in therapy

-Connecting with loved ones - friends or family - who you feel truly supported by

Please continue nourishing your bodies during this time. No matter what is happening in your family, you deserve to feed your body and take care of yourself.