How many times have you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror or seen a candid photo and thought, do I look like that?! At this moment, you are triggered by your body image, and all that is happening is anxiety. So what do you do to not spiral into self-destruction? Let's talk about it!
This has nothing to do with your actual body. And everything to do with the meaning you have attached to your weight gain, causing you to fall into an anxiety spiral.
So what do we need to do? Focus on the ✨ANXIETY ✨, not on your body.
What doesn’t calm anxiety:
- Restricting calories to try to ‘fix it
- Weight self to see weight
- Punishing self with a workout because ‘I deserve this
- Taking body photos to see what your body looks like
- Body checking to see if your body has changed
What does calm anxiety:
- Breathing
- Journaling
- Walking
- Talking it out
When feeling triggered, you need to remember that you’re okay, you’re safe, and your body responds better to care than punishment.
- Rather than: Omg, I look terrible. How did I let myself get like this?!
- Try: What does my body need today to feel its best? What do I need today to feel my best?
Maybe that’s extra water, rest, nutritious food, and compassionate self-talk. How can you respond differently today? How can you respond out of compassion rather than punishment?