Stress Response

Like many people, in times of stress I often reach for food to provide the comfort I so desperately crave.  Everyone has their own vice... for me it's chocolate.  Any form of  chocolate I can get my hands on (as long as there is no nuts).  And as I sit here feeling like crap after eating a huge bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce I am starting to realize that this response to stress is one of the major obsticals I face in my goals for creating a healthier life.

Unfortunately stress isn't something that I am likely to eliminate from my life anytime soon.  I am a Stay at Home mother to a wonderful 4 month old, wife to an amazing future Physician Assistant who is in the midst of his Clinical rotations and is rarely home.  Having almost the entire responsibility for child care, cooking, cleaning, and all other responsibilities for keeping our home running, all while living on student loans is more stressful than anything I've ever done.  Not that I'm complaining, because I wouldn't change any of it for the world.  But none of that stress is likely to change any time in the near future.

I am finding one of the hardest parts of making major lifestyle changes is trying to break unhealthy habits that are a response to stress.  Making healthy choices while at the grocery store is much easier, at least for me, than walking away from my comfort food when I feel like pulling my hair out because the only person I've see in three days in 2 feet tall and doesn't talk yet, and I'm realizing that broke doesn't begin to describe what you are when trying to support a family of three on student loans. 

Obviously the easiest way to do this would be to elimiate the trigger from your life (and if anyone knows the winning numbers to this weeks lotto please feel free to share!) But since stress is likely to emerge in many different forms throughout our lives it is much healthier to break these bad habits and develop healthier comfort responses to use in the future.  And just like the bad habits that we've developed over many years, these changes in response will take time.

The first step to any change is recognition of the problem.  So for now I am puting down the ice cream and telling myself that this slip isn't the end of the world.  I will still reach my goals.  I will not feel guilty about falling off the wagon.  Tomorrow is a new day and a new chance to reinforce the healthy lifestyle that I am trying to create, and to figure out how I can respond to stress in a way that doesn't sabotage my health.