Heather McLeod Counselling
33 Railway Crescent E5N 5L2 Hampton, NB, Canada

As the holidays approach, I want to say something about food and our relationship with it, as before we know it, articles suggesting how to control our eating around the holidays will be upon us, ads for New Year’s diets will emerge and resolutions to limit or restrict food, or certain foods, will be made. I’ve been thinking about this post for a while because I want to be clear on what it means to be anti-diet and to support the Health at Any Size movement, as well as what i...t does not mean. Anti-diet is against eliminating foods from your diet simply because they have been labeled bad (imagine only limiting foods you are allergic to or that you don’t like). Anti-diet is not anti-nutrition. Anti-diet it is not against adding nutrition-rich foods. Believe it or not, you can have broccoli and a cookie in the same day. Anti-diet is not anti-health. Anti-diet is for promoting all forms of health with emphasis on mental and emotional health (which challenges the narrow focus on physical health and emphasizes how they are all interconnected anyway). Health and weight are not necessarily correlated. Health at any size is not health at every size (meaning that both thin and fat bodies can be healthy or not). Anti-diet is anti-weight stigma and anti-fatphobia (it challenges assumptions made about fat people). Anti-diet is against restriction of any kind whether that be certain foods or certain times of the day that you can or can’t eat. It is against all food rules. It is about reclaiming the right to respond to hunger cues as well as to enjoy food. My hope is that if you have a difficult relationship with food, you can find some peace and some moments to enjoy food over the holidays.

Childhood/complex trauma, intergenerational trauma, historical trauma.

As COVID cases rise in the province, our minds and bodies are going to want to respond with protective/adaptive strategies that have served us well for thousands of years. The part of the brain that is hardwired to respond to threat, uncertainty and fear is going to be more activated than usual. We call this stress and anxiety, and physiologically, it is the stress response whereby the body releases stress hormones in preparation for responding to a threat to keep us safe via... the fight/flight/freeze response. None of this may be particularly new information, but I say this because even though the feeling is uncomfortable, this does not mean that it is bad. The stress response is a normal response to a stressful situation, and we can thank it for trying to keep us safe. There are of course things you can do to help the mind and body feel more relaxed, but try not to respond harshly to the stress response or to wish it away. If you are looking for recommendations, I have a few. It can be helpful to limit the amount of news you consume. It may feel like the more we know, the more we can control what is happening, but, of course, this is not the case. Also, it can be helpful to check in with yourself, focus on what you can control, take deep belly breaths, find something to laugh at and/or be intentional in making time to do whatever brings you a sense of comfort. I continue to offer sessions either in-person (masks are required) or virtual (via phone or Zoom). Don’t hesitate to reach out if you are struggling. I can be reached by calling or texting 506-650-7683 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Yes, THIS. There is nothing wrong with you if you go to therapy. You might be using ways of coping that are no longer serving you, or you may be struggling with distressing thoughts and/or emotions, and you may want to develop more self-awareness or self-compassion. Or you may have ANY number of reasons for going to therapy. BUT, this does not mean that there is something wrong with you or that you are "broken." You may have lost your way and need some help coming home to yourself

I have seen many posts on social media lately reminding us that our worth is not defined by our productivity. While I truly believe this to be true, if you are having difficulty believing this, try not to blame yourself. We are taught in many ways (and internalize to some degree) that our worth actually IS tied to our productivity. Because we learn to define our worth by how productive we are (in terms of our jobs but also at home, in our social lives etc.), being constantly... busy is viewed as a badge of honour and resting is often equated with laziness. COVID-19 has resulted in people struggling not only with job loss and financial uncertainty but with the loss of their ability to be productive. This can result in a feeling of groundlessness because there is no longer an external way to validate our sense of self-worth. Because the idea that worth is tied to productivity is not an individual belief but a shared understanding, it can be almost a radical or rebellious act not only to rest but to NOT justify it. The act of resting can also be a statement of your inherent worth which is not tied to what you are doing or accomplishing. How do you honour your need to rest?