How’s it going Train Loco readers! Today we have a really cool and unique guest article by our friend, Angie Speller, from Enso Behavioral Healthcare . Angie is a clinician that focuses in mental health counseling. She has a great deal of experience working with people who have developed eating disorders , addiction, mood disorders, and more. We felt it would be ideal for Angie to guest post for our audience since we have a rather large female following as well as men and women that are focused on changing their body composition through proper training and nutrition. We hope you all enjoy this article and take away some nuggets from it. Enjoy!
-Eric and Chris
Often people choose to exercise and “get fit” after watching TV or reading a magazine. We all find ourselves admiring the size and figure of others wishing and yearning to “be like them” that they “must” have it all together because they are happy and smiling.
What we see of their lives seems captivating and exciting, sometimes compared to our own. We then embark upon this journey of “getting fit”. We arm ourselves with the latest diet and purchase our gym membership excited to concur this elusive beast, your ideal image.
We’ve all had our hurts and struggles from the past but believe that this time, we have what it takes. Soon our motivations flounder as we lose confidence in ourselves, starve ourselves with the instruction of some restrictive “diet” that we found in the sea of magazine self-help guides.
When we are malnourished our mood becomes sour, we swing between bouts of depression. Depression that feels like hopelessness, limited energy, and motivation to get out of bed in the morning, and to complete simple tasks along with feeling lethargic.
We feel disconnected and discontent, because the results that we are looking for, the elusive ideal size, is out there taunting us. We become obsessed with the thrill of the chase and concurring the “whale”. Our fervent desire to find and concur this “whale” begins to foreshadow our self-defeating behaviors and thoughts.
We begin to place our value and self-worth in our size. Assuming that others want to date our pant size versus the amazing person we truly are on the inside. We begin to criticize ourselves with contemptuous snares of eye rolling, mocking, guilt, and shame.
We successfully define ourselves by our size and we become inadequate based on our inability to sculpt our bodies into that ideal image. We dismiss all other accomplishments and witness only our failings at concurring this “whale”.
Imagine that life. Day in and day out feeling increasingly dissatisfied and exhausted by the newest diet and promised rendezvous with our “whale” or ideal body size.
Now imagine a life of satisfaction and acceptance with our bodies. Where our shape and size doesn’t reflect our measure of success. That day, a beginning and end with the purpose of food, to nourish the living cells that function as our whole being. That day brings with a healthy relationship with ourselves, food, and understanding of the relationship we have with the two.
Here are 4 Tactics to Defeat Moby Dick:
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Identify 10 positive affirmations about yourself as a person (not your body or appearance) its okay to ask others for help with this.
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Post those affirmations on your mirror and read each morning.
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Keep a journal for how you are feeling each day.
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Find a Licensed Mental Health Counselor that you can connect with and talk to about your journey with Moby Dick.
Angie has significant experience in the mental health counseling field. Her 8 years of experience working in substance abuse treatment centers led to her mastery in treating people with the disease of addiction, eating disorders, mood disorders, trauma and an expert in group therapy. She earned additional masters certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy resulting in her proficiency repairing distant and distressed relationships. She received her Master’s Degree from the prestigious Rollins College and received additional training in Clinical Hypnosis, Dream Interpretation, and Career Counseling.
Enso Behavioral Healthcare originated as an intimate mental health private practice and is growing into one of the largest, privately owned businesses, providing mental health, wellness assessments, risk management, yoga, fitness, and enrichment services.
From the start, loyal clients received quality service from Clinicians with rigorous training and knowledge. We also began offering clinics so clients could grow at their own pace, in the comfort of their own homes.
P: 888.842.9473 | F: 877.797.0983 | W: EnsoBehavioralHealthcare.com
C: 727.386.6495 | 401 Corbett Street, Suite 460 Clearwater, FL 33759
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