It's OK to Feel More Than One Thing
it's ok to feel and be more than one thing.
Here's what I mean...
In tough times, it's so easy to identify with a label. To identify what's happening for you emotionally or behaviorally and many times to justify how you're showing up the world.
You're depressed.
You're anxious.
You're a binge eater.
There's nothing wrong with understanding what's driving your mood and your behaviors. But, if you get caught up in a label, enmeshed with the meaning you *or society* makes of that label, it can be difficult to identify with much else, or to make space to feel a different way.
I know firsthand that when you're feeling consumed with intense feelings or behaviors it can be difficult to even imagine that there's another option.
But I want to remind you that because you're depressed, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy small glimmers of joy.
Or, because you're anxious, doesn't mean that you can't find the smallest moments of calm and peace.
Because you struggle with binge eating, doesn't mean that you're a "binge eater".
Your feelings and your behaviors don't need to define you. When they do, we (as humans) have a way of pathologizing ourselves. Believing that because of what we're experiencing, we're forever stuck or inherently flawed.
Instead, try to make space to see your symptoms in a different way.
They are a part of you. They deserve your attention.
But, they're not the whole you.
When you can detach from over identifying with a part of you, you actually make space for the other parts of you to be seen and felt.
Allowing you to look for the moments of joy. Look for the moments of calm and peace. Look for the moments where behaviors aren't driving you.
When you're feeling emotionally or behaviorally flooded, gently remind yourself that when you're ready, it's possible to feel or do other things. This can inspire enough hope to get you through.
Remember, you aren't your symptoms. You are so much more than a diagnosis.
I'm a body image therapist and binge eating therapist in Horsham, PA. I work with women who are tired of waging war against their bodies and feeling so uncomfortable about and around food.
I'm passionate about helping women find liberation from body-loathing and bullshit societal standards that have shaped the way we engage with ourselves.
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