My Confession

Photo credit: Marcos Luiz

Raise your hand if you're with me.
Of course, you might not want to admit it.
I know that I am not pleased with myself for falling into this trap over and over again. I am merely human though, as are you and with that comes many flaws.

I confess.
I confess that I have poor coping mechanisms.

If you had seen me today after being on hold with two phone services each lasting approximately
30 minutes and each hanging up on me (it could be a valuable research study into the effects of prolonged exposure to hold music on the psyche), I was not coping very well.
To be honest it brought the toddler out in me.
Full on temper tantrum by the sixth (yes, six) call that lasted thirty plus minutes and ended with them just hanging up on me had me all out yelling at my phone and pounding fists.

This is not healthy.
This is not good behavior.
So why am I telling you?
Trust me, I am not seeking empathy.
I am sure you have been in this spot before considering the rise of automated answering services and how they pick up on every.small.minute.noise. making it take forever to even get into the queue (I am not holding onto frustration [said with sarcasm]).

Photo credit: Sebastian Herrmann

The worst part of this afternoon escapade was what the stress did to me.
Well, more like what my response to the stress was.
I went straight to the chocolate.

Yup.
Total fail.

After successfully staying the course through a holiday weekend feast I shamefully threw it all away at the first inkling of stress. Was it justified? You might think so, but it didn't help the situation nor did it help my mental health.

Sugar is a common soother for those who are stressed, depressed, or flat out in need of a good friend. This deceptive anti-nutrient enhances anxiety, impedes memory, causes mood swings, and keeps the good stuff your cells need to thrive from entering thus deteriorating your health.

In short it's bad. Real bad.
So how can you overcome?
Well, after an epic fail like I had today the best way to avoid the sugar trap is to simply keep it out of your house. That's right, don't buy it. Don't invite it in. Don't for one moment even think you can beat it. Your willpower will wear out quickly if you try, and moments of frustration where you have a learned mechanism (as I do) to react by soothing with sugar will only result in you feeling like a failure.

If you are ready to be part of a group of people who seek to rid their lives of poor coping mechanisms and replace them with positive behaviors then you want to sign up for the Healthier You Master Plan. Starting January 10th a group of individuals like you will begin the journey to reforming their lives once and for all and becoming more resilient.