{via etsy by Rocky Top Studio}

Yesterday I shared several writing exercises to soothe strong emotions from the book Writing for Emotional Balance: A Guided Journal to Help You Manage Overwhelming Emotions by clinical psychologist Beth Jacobs, PhD.

(See that post here.)

The problem with strong emotions is that they can lead you to feel even more scattered and overwhelmed and yearning a quick — and unhealthy — fix.

Today, I’m sharing two more healthy activities you can do when you’re feeling overwhelmed by a flood of feelings.

Remember that different coping strategies work for different people. So try them all, if you like, to see which ones resonate with you. Stick with what works best, and leave the rest.

While it’s important to release your emotions, sometimes, you just need to take a break. Sometimes, your emotions become so overwhelming that it’s best to have a few soothing strategies up your sleeve.

In her excellent book, Writing for Emotional Balance: A Guided Journal to Help You Manage Overwhelming Emotions, clinical psychologist Beth Jacobs, PhD, shares a few ways that we can “refocus.”

According to Jacobs, refocusing means returning to your emotional equilibrium. She describes refocusing as a way to take a much-needed respite, “like putting down some heavy suitcases to shake out your arms and then picking the suitcases up again.”

Refocusing is important because strong feelings can make you feel terrible, confused and scattered.

And, as so many of us have experienced, strong feelings can lead to self-destructive behaviors. You may feel so bad that you reach for the fastest relief — which may not be the best thing for you.

When you’re in it, really in it, it’s often hard to get out. It’s often hard to think beyond that strong emotion, make wise decisions and feel better.

In today’s world, we’re used to rushing through our lives — especially when it comes to eating. We often do everything while we eat. We eat during our commutes to work, or at our desks as we’re scrambling to finish a task.

Rather than savoring our meals, we eat and read, or we eat and watch TV, or we eat and work on our computers.

We rarely just sit and eat and focus on our food. Sometimes, I wonder if deep down we simply think that we don’t deserve to just eat and enjoy it.  

That’s why, today, I’m pleased to present my interview with Ed Halliwell, who discusses mindful eating and how we can actually savor our meals.

Halliwell is co-author of the book The Mindful Manifesto. He’s a UK-based mindfulness teacher and writer. He also writes for the Guardian newspaper on meditation and well-being, and writes a regular blog for mindful.org.

Every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit that helps boost your body image, whether directly or indirectly — and hopefully kick-starts the week on a positive note!

Got a tip for improving body image? Email me at mtartakovsky at gmail dot com, and I’ll be happy to feature it. I’d love to hear from you!

{via Nordstrom}

I love fashion. (So much so that I post pictures of my outfits every week on my personal blog.)

And I think that fashion can improve our body image. For instance, think about how great you feel when your clothes fit well and you’re wearing something you love.

Fashion is also a fun way to express yourself, another avenue for your creativity.

{via etsy}

Now that you’re familiar with the many types of “fat talk” (see here and here), you can start working to eliminate it.

In her book, The Woman in the Mirror: How to Stop Confusing What You Look Like with Who You Are, Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D, Director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program, explains that eliminating fat talk consists of two tasks.

One is to establish a fat-talk-free zone in your mind. The second is to establish a fat-talk-free zone in your environment.

Yesterday, I featured six types of ‘fat talk’ from Cynthia Bulik’s book The Woman in the Mirror: How to Stop Confusing What You Look Like with Who You Are. Today, I’m sharing the remaining six categories.

As Bulik points out in her book, fat talk is ubiquitous, insidious and harmful.

Fortunately, we can do something about it. And that’s incredibly empowering.

“Fat talk is a plague,” writes Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D, Director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program, in her book, The Woman in the Mirror: How to Stop Confusing What You Look Like with Who You Are.

“It is insidious and ubiquitous. We barely know it’s coming out of our mouths, yet it is all around us. Fat talk destroys women and girls.”

I completely agree. Fat talk is dangerous.

Every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit that helps boost your body image, whether directly or indirectly — and hopefully kick-starts the week on a positive note!

Got a tip for improving body image? Email me at mtartakovsky at gmail dot com, and I’ll be happy to feature it. I’d love to hear from you!

{via etsy}

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about apologizing for your appearance. I talked about the many ways we apologize for our looks and our bodies, with our words and actions.

{via etsy}

Myths about health abound in our society. Health is often confused with dieting, being thin and engaging in punishing exercise. The idea of health is also often used as a way to shame people into restricting their food and hating their bodies.

Today, in part three of our interview, professor, researcher and registered dietician Michelle Neyman Morris reveals more facts about being truly healthy.

Specifically, Morris shares accurate information about Health At Every Size (HAES), valuable resources on nutrition and how readers can distinguish between good science and marketing ploys.

If you haven’t yet, check out part one and part two.

{via etsy}

Here’s part two of my interview with professor, researcher and registered dietician Michelle Neyman Morris.

Below, Morris reveals how readers can eat mindfully (along with sharing helpful resources), why we tend to gravitate away from nutrient-rich foods and how to find a reputable dietician.

Check out part one here.