Anxiety is a natural biological response to any threat you experience. Anxiety isn't a bad thing! It keeps us safe when faced with a threat. Anxiety doesn't help when we experience it about something that isn't a threat to our survival.. like a piece of pizza. And the only way to calm anxiety when eating these fear foods is to calm yourself down around them, to show that you are safe. You are okay. The pizza will not hurt you. Here are a few ways you can do that:
01. Focus on Your Breath
Calm yourself down by practicing breathing exercises. A few of my favorites are:
- box breathing
- alternate nostril breathing
02. Bring Attention Elsewhere
Focus on where you are. What you see. Who you are with. What you hear. This can help calm you down enough to enjoy the fear foods.
03. Disrupt Your Thoughts
If any calorie counting arises or fears about calories come up, you can choose to disrupt those thoughts by reciting something random in your mind, such as:
- pink elephant, pink elephant, pink elephant
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
04. Practice Grounding
One of my favorite grounding exercises is grabbing an object, holding it in my hand, and describing it in as much detail in my head as possible. I love this because you can do it anywhere!
05. Let The Thoughts Go
Imagine the thoughts moving through you like clouds. You don't have to choose to engage with them.
