#126, How Art Can Cut Down on Emotional Eating Intro The last time you felt stress drag your body to the fridge or pantry, how intense was the feeling? Was it a vague discomfort you had felt most the day that seemed to gradually increase? Was it a sudden onslaught of overwhelm? Maybe a combination of the two? That’s a terrible feeling and I don’t think the solution should be based on will-power not to emotionally eat. Instead, you need to release that feeling or else something is going to give. And you probably won’t like the results. ***2024 Like & Share Promotion*** *** Personal Every Saturday evening I take over either the coffee table or the kitchen table. I cover it with my sticker sets, boxes of washi tape, markers, pens, and my open planner/journal. It is probably one of the most therapeutic activities that I regularly do for myself. I spend about an hour selecting stickers, colors, and washi tape and put together a week in my bullet journal where I plan out each day, set goals for the week, and have welcoming journaling pages. I get to enjoy this little bit of art each day of the week with a theme of colors and images that make me feel relaxed and excited about by week. Now, I didn’t discover this bit of art all by myself, instead it developed over time. I used to try to draw doodles and use stencils. Then my sister mentioned that she uses stickers and my sweet friend Sharon introduced me to washi tape. I keep all my supplies in a bin and usually do set up my journal without TV. It feels so relaxing to think about my week ahead while designing something beautiful to look at all in the upcoming days. I even set aside an area to write my memory verse for the week. Concept Whenever we are wanting to emotionally eat, our brain is looking for pleasure and a way to ease the discomfort we feel from an intense or long-lasting emotion like stress. Food provides many sensory inputs that are pleasurable and can provide a distraction. Art does the same but with the added bonus of also giving us space to mentally process what we are thinking and feeling in a way that is relaxing and devoid of additional pressure. When I am creating my planner my eyes are full of color, my hands are busy, and the act of creating something helps me move through the thoughts and feelings I have about both my recent experiences and what I am anticipating happening in the near future. Other people that have an art or craft they do consistently remark that they feel the same way when they create or make something. Spiritual Application In Proverbs 31 I love it that the woman is noted to make things. I used to read that and think how amazing it was that she did that for others. But I want you to sit back and imagine her weaving, the feeling of the thread and fibers between her fingers, watching cloth take shape, fashioning the fabrics into purple robes. I bet that the activity was one she looked forward to and one of the reasons she was noted as a woman of quality was because she did things that felt good to her soul. That was life-giving. Practical Application I would love for you to have access to this life-giving practice. Getting started is simple. It takes three steps. First, explore. Look at different kinds of arts and crafts and try things out. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. In fact, taking a trip to the local dollar tree can get you set up with some basic, if lower quality materials, so that you can see if different arts or crafts jive with you. Some art activities I’ve seen others love are watercolors, cardmaking, sculpting, adult coloring books, and seasonal crafts. Second, set up easy access to the art or craft that you enjoy. I keep all my journaling supplies in a little bin. I can just grab it and go set up somewhere. When you find a craft you enjoy I want to encourage you to do the same. Often people don’t engage in activities they enjoy because it seems like too much work to get started. Having your materials organized will help you avoid that obstacles. Even better than a bin is setting up space in your house, if you have it, so that you can go to that space whenever you need to and get started. Lastly, pay attention to your before and after emotional intensity. Take a moment before you begin to note what level you are feeling emotional discomfort. Rate from 0 to 10 with 0 being emotionally neutral and 10 being completely overwhelmed or distraught. After you finish the activity, check in with yourself again to see if you need more time processing and to note the effect the art activity has on you. I want to give one note of caution, don’t do art activities that bring out perfectionistic tendencies. If you feel the need for your creations to be perfect, you might find that the activity doesn’t help you decompress and might leave you feeling more stressed or frustrated than before. Journal Prompt To get you started, take a moment to answer these quick questions: Did you enjoy any art or craft activities when you were a kid? Do you like being outside? Do you like doing things with others or alone? Has there been any art or craft activities that interest you? Sign Off I think that all of us have a creative side that we were meant to explore. It might be gardening or organizing or decorating or a thousand other possibilities. I’m so excited for you to embrace this part of the amazing person God made you to be and reap the health benefits you can feel all the way down to your soul. Goodbye for now. Talk to you next week.
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by Lora ArmendarizYou Can Do It!Do you want to fall out of love with a destructive habit? The first 42 episodes of this podcast are a resource for anyone who wants encouragement and information as they take a six week break from a habit in order to fall out of love with it. Archives
April 2024
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