Posts Tagged “Anxiety”

Meditation is the process of relaxing your body and training your mind to stay in the present moment. In short, mediation is the process of soothing your mind and body. While the most common association with meditation is someone sitting cross-legged on the floor and breathing with their eyes closed, meditation comes in a variety of forms.

Types of Meditation

Breath awareness

Breath awareness is the most common meditative practice. This practice encourages awareness of breath and mindfulness—the only guideline is to focus on your breath. To do this practice, start by getting comfortable. You may be sitting in a chair, sitting cross-legged, or lying down. The goal is to be in a position that you can stay in for at least five minutes with little discomfort. Once you are comfortable, close your eyes and began breathing in and out through your nose. Focus on your breath. You may notice your thoughts start to wander to to-do lists, stressors, or daily events. If this happens, simply redirect your attention back to your breath. If may be helpful to focus on your breath by repeating the words “in and out” as you breathe or to pay attention to how the air feels coming in and out of your body.

Gratitude is a state of thankfulness. The word stems from the Latin word gratus, meaning grateful and denoting a feeling of appreciation. While practicing gratitude has several benefits, it is often a forgotten practice in Western culture. With the fast-paced, stressful nature of modern life, we often push wellness practices to the side. Luckily, wellness practices like meditation, mindfulness, and gratitude are always available and relatively easy to start. One of The Emily Program’s favorite wellness activities is keeping a gratitude journal.

What Is a Gratitude Journal?

A gratitude journal is simple—it is a place for appreciation. Typically, it is a notebook where you can write down and reflect on what you are grateful for. While there are many ways to structure your personal gratitude journal, we suggest starting somewhere that feels feasible for you.

We know that holidays are a tricky time of year for those in eating disorder recovery. Stress and anxiety may increase with the constant presence of food and the extended amount of time spent with family. To make the upcoming holiday a bit easier, we’ve constructed an easy-to-follow dos and don’ts list for this holiday season.

We are in the middle of the holiday season, which means that you’ve most likely endured some degree of familial stress. From the commotion of cooking large meals for the extended family to body and food-centric dinner table talk, it’s easy to see why the holidays might just be the most stressful time of the year. For those in eating disorder recovery and those who are support people, it’s essential to know what stress is and how it functions. With an understanding of the nature of stress, we can move forward compassionately and mitigate anxiety-inducing moments by utilizing positive communication skills. 

I recently came across an article in The Mighty called, “37 Memes That Might Make You Laugh If You Live with ‘High-Functioning’ Anxiety,” and let me tell you, I did laugh and immediately forwarded the articles to three of my friends that I knew would relate. While hilarious, the article also highlights the reality of anxiety and, specifically, that anxiety isn’t just everyday stress.

**Content warning: This is one person’s story; everyone will have unique experiences in recovery and beyond. Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms. Please use your discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed.

By Nicole, a former Emily Program client

As I have grown up and entered the new chapter in my life that has begun my years as a young adult, I have had many obstacles thrown my way before reaching the age of 21. I am happy to say that I am living a happy, healthy, productive, and recovering life in my house up north with my mom and dad. However, it took many years of therapy, medication adjustments, and support from my loved ones to get to where I am today. Things weren’t always promising for me.