Mental Health

If you have ever gone on a diet or struggled with an eating disorder, disordered eating, or negative body image, you end up binge-eating, telling yourself you will start over tomorrow only to have the same experience a few days later? Although these moments can feel full of failure, shame, and self-judgment, it is important to know there is nothing wrong with you and that you did nothing wrong; biology points to this fact.

Relapse is a common experience in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) and mental illness. Although relapsing may feel as if you are backpedaling, you could also view it as a chance to deepen your relationship with yourself and your healing.

What thoughts cross your mind when you think of uncertainty and your relationship https://www.avalonmalibu.com/blog/treating-narcissistic-personality-disorder-with-cbt/to it? Which feelings and emotions arise in your body? What do you do in moments when you face what seems like an insurmountable amount of uncertainty? Although uncertainty may cause fear, creating peace with the unknown is where possibility and potential lie.

Healing, recovery, and growth are not linear processes. There will be many ups and downs along the way; sometimes, the road may feel more manageable than at other times. The process can be messy: Relapse may transpire, and obstacles will appear, but more profound levels of healing will also happen. Although you may understand that the road to recovery and healing is not a straight line, it can be easy to forget that the process is supposed to be messy. It can be healing in itself to allow yourself to be imperfect without making it mean something about you, especially if perfectionism has caused you problems in the past.

Cultivating a sense of playfulness in your life may feel challenging, especially if you have spent most of your life stuck in patterns of perfectionism, control seeking, and feeling anxious in your relationship to uncertainty. Perhaps it feels irresponsible to you to be more playful, lighthearted, and free-spirited in your life and relationships. Our society often discourages such notions and instead perpetuates the idea that we should be hard-working, serious, and constantly hustling. However, an integral part of holistic wellness involves redefining your relationship to play and rest.

Living in a capitalist society means that we are consumers whether we want to be or not — otherwise, consumerism and capitalism would not exist. However, living in a capitalist society is correlated with increased rates of mental illness in the United States. Capitalism and feeling like you must always be consuming can lead to harmful narratives that you never have enough, leading to poor financial wellness and dissatisfaction. Choosing to intentionally shift out of consumerism and into what truly brings you joy and satisfaction can increase the presence of pleasure and fulfillment in your life. Doing so can lead to improved mental wellness and a focus on what actually matters to you.

Although you do not have to meditate to be mindful, meditation is a great way to bring mindfulness into your life. Beginning a meditation practice may feel challenging at first, but it can become more comfortable over time.

One-on-one psychotherapy is a powerful way to lean into self-discovery while cultivating self-awareness and self-acceptance. Even though psychotherapy serves as a launchpad for healing and growth, it can also feel intimidating and scary as it requires you to be vulnerable with someone you do not know well. Knowing that this experience is common and normal can be helpful as you begin meeting with your therapist.

The way you speak to and about yourself can either lead you closer to your goals or further away from them. Learning what "core self-talk" is, what yours sounds like, how it makes you feel, and how to shift it is essential to cultivating self-acceptance and self-confidence.

The beginning of the new year can offer a feeling of having a fresh start and the opportunity to start the year off by prioritizing yourself, your goals, and your holistic wellness. With the energy the start of the year can offer, it can also be easy to get wrapped up in "hustle culture" and feel like you have to complete all of your goals within the first months of the new year. This can feel overwhelming and lead to burnout, chasing goals that may not align with your beliefs.

Overcoming any mental health disorder is complex, and eating disorders are no different. Disordered eating affects not only your physical health but your mental and emotional health as well. There are many ways eating disorders can manifest, each with their own health concerns and emotional turmoils, but eating disorders can beget even greater feelings of anxiety, depression, shame, or other pervasive, intrusive thoughts.

How many times a day do you do something because you think you should, even though you don't want to? Likewise, how many of your goals and desires are ones you think you should have or stem from what somebody else wants? It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you should do something or behave in a certain way, especially since notions of perfectionism, comparison, and conforming permeate our society. However, discovering what you actually want to do and how you want to live can help you reclaim your autonomy, truth, and individual voice.