Ok friends, let's talk coping mechanisms. I already had this post swirling around in my mind and then Camile posted below, so I decided to just ask: What are your coping mechanisms? Good and bad.
I had a friend a year back who was trying to quit smoking. She had tried many times but never with much success. This time she felt different and was going strong for a week, but then work got too stressful and she just broke down. As the days went on and she kept trying, she just kept saying "I can't handle the stress without it."
Now none of us are trying to quit smoking (that I'm aware of) but maybe we're trying to get through one week, um one freaking day! without turning to sweets? This move to Virginia has been kinda hard for me--pretty lonely and the kids have been kids. I've just wanted to run into the kitchen and find something sweet each time the kids scream in duet for 15 min plus. This morning we realized a little late that we were basically out of milk (for Adele) so Justin ran to the store at 6am to pick some up before going to work. When I opened the freezer just now I found chocolate ice cream the good man got for me as a surprise. I think I'll wait til Monday but just the fact that I want food every time I feel stressed scares me, especially when I think of addictions like my friend Lily's. So my friends, what do you do?
I feel like I've betrayed my good friend food, because I love food and feel it can be therapeutic especially when you make or bake it. Ok, I'm done.
ReplyDeleteI clean something instead of eat. I also try to exercise too. Just try to stop and ask yourself "why am I eating? Hungry or no?"
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm consistently exercising (and for me especially when I do yoga) I don't crave the sweets as much. And if I keep busy during the day - if I rush to clean something when the screaming starts I get caught up in something else and not my stress eating.
ReplyDeleteIn general, exercise is my stress reliever. I feel better when I'm working out/dancing/sweating. I do, however, turn to food, especially sweets, during stressful times of the day (i.e., my son is having a meltdown, both kids are crying, etc.). This week has taught me that I can be more disciplined than I thought. I'm a list maker, so maybe I could come up with a list of things to do to reference during those stressful times. Then I'd have a specific plan with healthy activities directed towards lowering my stress level and actually making me feel better afterward. Hopefully then my first reaction wouldn't be to hit up that jar of Nutella. :)
ReplyDelete