 | Lisa Vermillion is President and co-owner of Get Fit Bee Fit and Thin and Healthy Weight Management. Lisa opened Get Fit- 4 years ago in Valley Center, after receiving certifications thorough the American Council on Exercise as a Weight and Lifestyle Management Consultant and Certified Personal Trainer. In January, she Grand Opened Thin and Healthy Weight Management in the same location. Lisa not only provides weight loss programs for individuals but she also implements business wellness programs for small businesses and large corporations. Additionally, Lisa is a Certified Life Coach providing guidance for individuals in the areas of career, relationship and personal development. She is available for speaking engagements in the areas of Physical Fitness, Weight Management, or any Life Coaching area (goal setting, positive attitude, sales, etc). Lisa can be reached for questions or speaking engagements by phone (316) 755-1115 or email at mvmillion@yahoo.com |
Diet & Nutrition
2006-11-01 08:56:00
Anger and cookies
Whenever the people around me get on my nerves or whatever situation I’m in gets stressful, I tend to get angry and reach for the cookies. I need some help to end this crazy cycle.
ANSWER: Anger is a common emotional reaction. Other emotional reactions include vegetating on the couch with a remote, napping too much or not enough, or eating too much or not enough. The first thing to realize is that these are merely symptoms of the problem; you must get to the real source of the problem in order to break the cycle. Emotional reactions usually come from stress of some type. It could be work stress, financial stress, relationship stress, mental stress or physical stress. When we deal with or eliminate the stress at the source, our lives become more balanced and the cookies don’t hold quite the same appeal. One way you can deal with the stress is to learn to respond instead of react in any given situation. Once you understand the difference you can begin to handle your stress more effectively.
There are several differences between reaction and response.
Reactions are based on gut instinct. We react without thinking. Response is conscious and thought out.
:Reaction comes from a negative “victim” mentality, “I can’t believe she did that to me.” Response comes from a positive “take responsibility” mentality, “When you do that I feel ____.”
Reaction leaves you feeling drained. Response gives you energy.
You are able to chose, in any given situation, whether to respond or react. Once you have decided to work on responding, the first thing you need to do is learn to stop in the situation and choose a different response. For example, our son was in a vehicle accident with his dad’s pickup truck. The sun was low in the sky and the intersection is dangerous anyway. The car in front of my son slammed on his brakes as the light turned yellow, and my son, unable to swerve far enough, hit the car and crunched the front of his dad’s truck. We had a choice, we could choose to react and get angry about the pickup or we could respond by making sure our son was OK and being thankful no one was hurt. We have the ability to choose to respond.
The next step would be to brainstorm ways to deal with the core problem. Make a list of your options and choose one or two to work on. You can also brainstorm ways to handle the stressful situation such as taking a walk, reading helpful material, or nurturing yourself in some other healthy way. You can journal your thoughts and feelings about any situation. Getting them out of your head and on to paper can help you see things more objectively. Calling a friend or seeking out a counselor or coach is an effective option as well.
Response overrides the reaction tendency. Each time you choose to respond, you get closer to overcoming the emotional eating reaction. Make the choice to respond, come up with some great options, handle the core stress, and you will break the cookie cycle.
