Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.
-Jim Rohn
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday whirlwind filled with parties, food, desserts, drinks, etc. It is a season that tempts us with the promise of joyful celebration and excessive consumption. In a normal holiday season, we might overindulge for a variety of reasons. In a holiday season laden with grief the temptation to do so might be even stronger.
For grievers, the holidays are a difficult time, especially if your loss is new. While we must be careful to take stock of our emotional needs at this time of year, we must also pay attention to how we choose to cope with those needs. Our body will bear the brunt of our grief as we indulge in order to treat the pain and sadness we experience.
Rather than drown our sorrows in the easily flowing alcohol or stuff it with every tasty morsel that passes us by (whether on a party platter or at the store), let us be mindful of why these items are so enticing to us right now. Covering our sadness with food and drink doesn’t honestly address the emotional triggers the next few weeks bring.
Take care of your body this season by mindfully consuming what is available around you. Avoid satisfying your emotional needs with outside remedies that merely act as band-aids. Take stock of why it is you want to overindulge and treat those pains with meditation, reflection, exercise, friends, conversation, counseling, etc.
This week, give thought to what might enhance your grief this season and identify healthy ways to treat it.
A.N.Carroll 