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Dieting as a Distraction

  1. Sabrina says:

    This post really resonates with me. When I look back at my forays into the diet world, they all coincide with periods of depression, anxiety, or insecurity in my life. I went on my first diet at 17, when I was finding it difficult to end an unsatisfying romantic relationship while also facing the unknown of life away from home once I left for college. Another diet at age 20 coincided with a period of untreated seasonal affective disorder and its accompanying depression. And the last diet I ever went on, at 33, coincided with the end of my years of early motherhood, as I faced the fact that I had been doing for others so long that I no longer knew who I was or what I needed. In retrospect I see that those diets were attempts at control at times when I felt I had none.

    I too am feeling the end-of-year funk, punctuated with fear and anger after the election. I am not feeling the pull to diet, surprisingly, though I must say I did feel a strong pull to start lifting heavy weights and perhaps start a martial arts practice (so I can get strong for the revolution and be ready to kick someone’s ass if needed!), so there is still that pull to change my body to deal with the uncertainty and fear about the future. My yoga practice and hikes have been important ways to feel my feelings and my body while providing an outlet for the anxious energy I’m feeling right now. And now more than ever I’m finding it’s important to feed my body (and those of my family) well. We need strong, nourished bodies to weather what comes our way in the next 4 years.

    Thanks for your post, and lots of love to you as you work through this challenging time.

  2. Ocean Bream says:

    Wow. I wish you all the best. This post really spoke to me.

  3. “I’m living with uncertainty without using starvation as a proxy for control.” –> Whoa. YES. So well put.

  4. Since the election and Brexit and other situations have made many of us feel utterly out of control, I can easily see how dieting would make a person feel in control of at least ONE aspect of their lives. But that’s not what our bodies are for! Nice post, Glenys.

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