In case you hadn’t heard, it’s tri-delt’s famous Fat Talk Free Week. (Shouldn’t there be a hyphen or two in there somewhere? There should. Between the Fat and the Talk, methinks.)
Anyhow, I and the women I surround myself with these days are pretty good at not saying nasty things about their bodies out loud. But I can remember thinking and saying things about my body when I was a teenager and in my early 20s that were pretty freakin’ horrendous. My old favorite: “I’m disgusting”
But I haven’t thought that about myself in at least three years, and I haven’t said it in even longer than that. Here’s what a very smart person once recommended I do when a harmful or disturbing thought came into my head (this is sort of a modified CBT technique). Grab a pen and:
1. Write down the emotion you were feeling at the time (sad, anxious, etc.)
2. Write down the automatic judgement or thought you had (I’m gross; my thighs are disgustingly fat, etc.)
3. Take a look at this list of what therapists call “cognitive distortions” and see which one (or two, or three) of them you were making. (My favorite was always All-or-Nothing Thinking. Either I’m thin-and-perfect, or fat-and-fuckedup. Hallelujah for healing!)
4. Write alternative, more rational responses. (Like for me: Yes I have a couple layers of subcutaneous adipose tissue on my belly area. But…so? All that Pilates has made my core hella strong. Soft and strong. Yep, that’s me!)
What’s the worst thing you’ve said to your body? And what can you say instead?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CuMJybvAh8&feature=player_profilepage]
xo…Sunny
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