Blissfully Happy

I've said before that I don't think anyone got overweight/obese by being blissfully happy with their life.  But I don't think I've really gone in to the corollary to that -- which is that many people who are overweight/obese are unhappy and don't own up to it.  Rather than admitting and living through their unhappiness, they stuff it down.

So it's with that in mind that I want to say two things, in reverse order:

1. Thank you and I appreciate it.
2. But if I'm going through a funk, it doesn't necessarily mean I've given in, or that I need rescue.

Ask anyone who has successfully lost the weight and kept it off:  in order to be successful with this battle, you need to be familiar with your emotions.  You don't need to spill your guts all over the internet, but you need to be on a first name basis with the negative emotions you (most of us) were trying to bury with food.

It's healthy to say "I'M ANGRY" or "I'M FRUSTRATED."  It's even healthy to say "I FEEL A LITTLE LOST."  It doesn't mean you've given up, doesn't mean you're failing.  Just means you know where you are.

And in order to climb out of the pit of despair (as it feels sometimes) you need to be able to take the first step and call a spade a spade.  And then climb.  And climb some more.

Like I said in a previous entry, "Here, I very clearly understood that all emotions (not just anger, and not just the positive emotions) have their place, have their time, and have their own needs."  So when I'm expressing frustration, anger, feeling lost, etc., I don't need a "cheer up" or "you're doing well," I need to hear "ain't it a bitch" or "I've been there."  Remind me that saying the words STAGNATION or WISHY WASHY, or UNFOCUSED are ways of naming what I feel, and it's better than running to the refrigerator.

Worry more if I say "don't worry, I'm fine" or "it's okay, I don't want to talk about it."  That means I'm shutting down and giving in.

I haven't done that yet, now, have I?