Life Wellness Articles By Catherine L. Taylor
What is life wellness?
Life wellness is about the total state of your well-being. Your well-being comprises many dimensions. These dimensions make up the health of your “whole person.” There are 8 dimensions of wellness. These are: emotional, physical, occupational, social, intellectual, environmental, financial, and spiritual. When one or more of these dimensions is missing or out of balance, it can disrupt the overall state of your well-being.
If you want to overcome emotional eating, it’s important to address your “whole person and life wellness.” This is because overeating is often a response to certain triggers: they can be emotional, environmental, occupational, etc. Many people who eat emotionally often have areas in their life wellness that are lacking, and they use food and eating to fill this void. For example, someone who doesn’t have much of a social life, or is in an unfulfilling relationship or job, may turn to food to compensate. Emotional eating soothes and numbs their emotions.
Over the many years I’ve worked with people with food and weight issues, I’ve found that the primary goal underneath the desire to lose weight and/or stop emotional eating is the desire to be happier. Underneath the desire to be happier is actually a desire to become whole. All humans have a desire for self-actualization, and that desire often appears as a desire to become more than we currently are. Humans are designed to evolve and grow so that we can fulfill our potential and achieve optimal life wellness. When we don’t pursue growth, we often stagnate and begin to engage in self-destructive behaviors like overeating.
Enjoy the Emotional Eating Articles Below
I’ve been writing on the topics of emotional eating, mindfulness, and aspects of life wellness since 2006.
Mindfulness for Binge Eating
Mindfulness for Binge Eating – My Story of Recovery My binge eating started over 50 years ago. Mindfulness for binge eating wasn’t being used widely, nor was my behavior even called an eating disorder back then. I sought recovery at age 30 in 1988, and mindfulness for binge eating was
Recovery From Binge Eating – 8 Ways to Move Beyond It
Recovery From Binge Eating What it is and How to Recover When most people think of eating disorders, they think of anorexia or bulimia, but binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder. Recovery from binge eating is possible with the right methods and treatment. Let’s first
The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating
The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating Intuitive eating and its 10 principles were first created in 1995 by the nutritionists Evelyn Tribole, MS, RDN, and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, when they published their groundbreaking book, “Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach.” Intuitive eating is at the heart of what
7 Steps Perfectionists Need to Master to Lose Weight
7 Steps Perfectionists Need to Master to Lose Weight Completion comes not from adding another piece to ourselves but from surrendering our ideas of perfection.—Mark Epstein Many of us have a hard time accepting our humanness. If we’re perfectionists, we may see our lives as one big self-improvement project
Beyond Black and White Thinking
Moving Beyond Black and White Thinking Around Food Black and white thinking is one of the biggest barriers to overcoming emotional eating and weight loss. Black and white thinking (all or nothing) is a distorted, polarized, split way of thinking that prevents people from viewing reality as it really
The Problem with Deprivation
The Problem with Deprivation Most of us try to use will power and deprivation to lose weight. If it was really a matter of will power, we’d have the problem licked by now. The more we try to control our eating, the more food obsessed we become. When you
How Perfectionism Sabotages Weight Loss
How Perfectionism Sabotages Weight Loss Perfectionism is a harsh, controlling, fearful energy that is lacking in warmth and compassion. Perfectionism comes from the ego/mind; compassion comes from the heart. — Catherine L. Taylor Perfectionism is one of the greatest obstacles to weight loss. Expecting yourself to rigidly follow a
Self-Acceptance Paves the Way for Change
Self-Acceptance Paves the Way for Change The path to change begins with self-acceptance. — Catherine L. Taylor Self-acceptance paves the way for overcoming overeating or any other major change. Change begins with an acceptance of where you’re at in the moment. As the late spiritual teacher Louise Hay wrote, “The
What Self-Love Looks Like
What Self-Love Looks Like We often hear, “You have to practice self-love.” But many of us don’t really know what self-love looks like in actual practice. So what does loving yourself really entail? 1. It means self-care – caring for mind/body and soul. 2. It means loving yourself enough