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Fall…a time for apples, pumpkin, football and new beginnings…
It is that time of year! The time for football, apples, all things pumpkin and back to school!
Every year I find myself pondering new beginnings as the first fall crispness hits the air and the leaves begin to change. It’s funny, Fall is not the marker of new beginnings for me anymore. I am no longer in school, yet I still find myself re-examining where I am and where my life is headed every September. Something about fall compels me to examine the possibility of new beginnings.
Much of what I have learned for myself on the advent of this new autumn can be applied for those in recovery from an eating disorder.
As I looked back at the past year I recognized that despite the pace at which I had been working, I found myself always feeling one step behind. At first I had difficulty pinpointing why this would be. Gradually, it dawned on me. I simply have been taking on too much. I had not taken any time to step back, re-evaluate and prioritize the things I needed to do both personally and professionally. At the end of the day many things I most wanted to do remained on the “To Do” list with no end. In turn, I was constantly judging myself and criticizing myself for not getting it ALL done. I realized I did need to do more– I needed to do better.
Doing more did not mean taking on additional responsibilities and increasing demands. It meant taking care of myself. It meant coordinating my schedule in a way that worked for me. This included doing the work I felt passionately about and not doing things only because I thought I should or I was supposed to. So, this fall I am committing to saying “No” when I need to and allowing time for the things that mean the most (Hmmm…more blogs! Upcoming additions and services for Mindfullness! New Mindfullness activities!!) and less what I feel I should do.
People with eating disorders like to please. They tend to have high expectations for themselves and others which often leads to feeling overloaded and overwhelmed. As this autumn begins, how can you put yourself first, before the shoulds that the eating disorder so often dictates?
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