It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change - Charles Darwin
The dictionary explain adaptability as “the ability to change (or be changed) to fit changed circumstance” Which to me means it’s a habit that can be cultivated, taught or learnt! Every individual comes with a basic capability to adapt to a new environment, lifestyle, culture or diet. We have heard over and again, adapt yourself! Giving due importance to developing adaptability, I feel the more opportunities there are or we are being presented with, the better it is.
Embracing change instead of acting on reflex and resisting as the first natural reaction would be a smarter way to move ahead. Adaptability in today’s world comes with a load of things:
The rise in the Serotonin levels in our system leads to craving for food and an emotional imbalance.
Stay Calm when the going gets tough!
Say “oh yes bring it on” to a new challenge!
Dealing with shift in paradigms and workloads!
All this and even more! Here is a funny incident I would like to share. My friends and I went a small vacation. My friends come from different cultures. What was meant to be a backpack vacation ended up with tons of luggage. And who was the culprit? Just two friends from my gang of 9. And why? They decided to pack their staple food for all 10 days! Can you imagine? And where did we go? To Bangkok. Alright stop the giggles!
I know what runs in your mind here. Jokes apart… I asked them why on earth would you pack food? Pat came the reply, “Chief, we cannot eat the local food! And what if we do not find an Indian Restaurant?” It dawned on me at this juncture, when your mind has created a mental block to adapting your body will not listen to you! Similarly, fitness is a psychological and emotional state! Your body will not go where your mind doesn’t push it!
If your mind doesn’t challenge you it will not change you or push you to being adaptive.
Emotional eating often comforts us! For many it’s a source of stress relief, a reward to the soul when it feels low on esteem, is angry or depressed! Anger and depression often feed the soul! A client of mine, came across to me and said “I feel powerless when I get angry and the only comfort I have in sight is food!”
Emotional hunger cannot be filled with food. Often we find ourselves feeling worse than what we did before, being eaten up by guilty for messing up and not possessing the needed willpower. You feel increasingly powerless over both food and your feelings.
The rise in the Serotonin levels in our system leads to craving for food and an emotional imbalance.
I feel labeling our feelings works magic! I am so angry they have loaded me with more work than what is on my share! Abuse them in you mind if need be! Write it down! Vent it out! That feels far more liberating to the soul then going on a food binge and ordering a large pizza with a choco lava cake! Sounds familiar?
Anger and aggressive behavior, especially those self-directed, are frequent in individuals suffering from bulimia nervosa, especially when confronted. It is common for one with an eating disorder to experience hostility and anger the initial stage of dieting. No two people express emotions the same way. The concept of externalizing your emotions, which means separating your emotions connected to eating is more prudent!
Try art! Tangled art for that matter is an excellent source of relief for anger!
The concept of externalising your emotions, which means separating your emotions connected to eating is more prudent!
Even when it feels like you are feeling nothing, anger at a lurking beneath the surface of being suppressed When Anger has nowhere else to go, it starts to feed on your soul! Let’s try and get you to witness this. A wet cloth with a tiny drop of black ink on it!
Can you see the way it spreads across the cloth? It moves, slowly, blotching the wet areas, creeping into the corners that let it blend! Now let’s shift the ink to anger and the wet cloth to our soul! A dark cloud, moving into our system, our mind, our soul, filling us with darkness! Unable to vent your anger or to push away the cloud we turn to eating.
Chocolate! That little tiny cake from Sandys! Or Pizza, double cheese burst! It all sounds familiar! A Dejavu!
I know of a friend who overheard something about herself! I watched her begin to eat more food than usual, and specifically food that she associated with her childhood. Minutes after the face-off, which did not go well, she made tea, went to the fridge and loaded her plate with sweets, sat down started to eat!
Witnessing this, I began to think about the root causes behind anger and overeating.
Let’s take some time to answer this. A reflection on what you relate anger to…
- Anger is?
- Hunger is?
- When did you get really angry in the recent past?
- What do you consider as the angriest moment in your entire life?
- What are the various ways in which you deal with anger?
- What are the various ways you deal with emotional hunger?
- What pleasure do you get from eating when you are angry?
- How do you use anger as a weapon against eating?
So what actually happens when you indulge in anger eating?
- We experience an outburst of anger
- Anger burns up energy
- Since food is a source of energy, we might as well try replacing the depleted strength!
- An emotional link between anger and food?
- Do we eat to comfort ourselves and re-energize?
- Do we need more awareness on how to adapt to SWITCH OVER?
Get prepared with these questions & Join me on 15th & 16th October @ the wellness Convention. Watch my YouTube channel for more details (Please change the YouTube settings to HD for better clarity of the video)
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