Attacking that Monster Head On

If we can master our emotions, we'll be less inclined to eat junk. And that is why I spend so much time writing and talking and thinking about happiness.

If we can work on ways to become happier and figure out ways to make ourselves happier, we'll be setting ourselves up for success!

Here's the problem, though.

All we ever heard as a kid was "stop crying" or "relax" or "calm down" or "everything will be alright!" But no one ever told us how to deal with complex emotions.

When our mind floods with emotions we might feel panicky or upset or anxious or angry. How about feelings like rage, loneliness, abandonment, shame? These feelings can be horrifying.

The challenge with feelings and thoughts is that we can't control them. There are a lot of new-agey books that are sorta goofy in my opinion. Many suggest that we 'let go of our ego' and all sorts of things.

The reality is I can't control my thoughts. They just pop into my head. As do my feelings.

If we were all going to a gorgeous island that was beaming with sun we'd go prepared with sun tan lotion. (One day I hope this is the case, as one of my dreams is to have an annual MBT retreat!)

Well, what if we prepared ourselves for when we're sad or anxious or unhappy, etc?

What if we had a secret stash of things to do or look at or people to call when certain feelings arise? The idea here is to figure out ways to positively deal with our emotions.

The goal is to actually face them head on because we have a bunch of ways we can soothe ourselves that don't require food. We don't want to stop and then have to deal with them later on. And that's what emotional eating is simply doing: delaying the inevitable.

It's also important to remember that, like clouds, feeling and emotions do pass! We must remember this.

Remember: The monster is never as scary as it seems! Ever.

-Adam