What We Treat – Food And Weight Struggles
Improve your mental and emotional health and change your relationship with food.
Food – It’s an essential part of our life to live and yet it’s something so many struggle with. From not eating enough to eating too much, either can affect your overall well-being.
In more extreme cases where eating disorders are occurring, there are facilities that offer the proper help and support. Learn more about this from the National Institute of Mental Health. There are also qualified registered dieticians who can help with specifics as well.
Where Serenium therapy can help is in guiding you towards understanding how or why mentally and emotionally you may be struggling with food or weight issues from the past, or in handling the response you get from others at the moment.
The National Library of Medicine suggests that obesity can create psychological issues including weight-related stigma, discrimination, and societal pressures which can lead to chronic stress, social exclusion, and diminished access to resources and opportunities. These social factors can exacerbate psychological distress and contribute to the development of mood disorders and other mental health issues.
The National Council on Aging suggests that people who struggle with excess weight may also experience anxiety over being judged for how they look. In addition, there are obesity-related health factors that can negatively influence mental health. Research suggests that excess body fat and poor eating habits increase inflammatory markers. This heightened inflammation can lead to a higher risk of developing depression.
The Mayo Clinic suggests that a history of weight bullying could be a cause for extreme cases. Yet, in the United States, there are societal pressures everyone faces. With the growth of social media and editing tools, unrealistic expectations are set for all types of people, leading people to believe they need to look like those images to be accepted.
There is also the case of being bullied as a child in school by peers or being put down by a significant other which can also potentially be classified as a form of abuse. If you’ve ever been an athlete or performing artist, there could have been pressures or expectations from coaches to be a certain weight or even you could put pressure on yourself as you age, feeling like you should still be as you were as a teen athlete.
There is also the case for emotional eating. This acts as a form of escape when feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or with any intensity of emotion. Consistent consumption of fast food is a prime example of something many may use when feeling stressed.
A qualified therapist can help you understand your mental and emotional relationship with food. Most people at some time or another have struggled with their weight and it doesn’t mean they have a diagnosis. Instead, they are human beings who simply is trying to navigate their way to being healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally, and finding ways to stay satisfied with food while also facing the pressures of society’s take on beauty, America’s large use and easy access to processed foods, and the struggles to cook food at home when there are a variety of other things you may need to get done.
Therapy can help and also be supplemental to your nutrition and exercise program. The better you can understand your relationship with food, the less stress you can feel about what you eat and your weight, which in turn can help you live a healthier lifestyle.
At Serenium we envision a world where there is mental and emotional wellness for all and we’re on a deeper mission to provide people the mental and emotional support needed to cultivate their well-being through all of life’s events.
Serenium is a brand focused on therapy and wellness where serenity and calmness meet balance and equilibrium. A place where Mind, Body, Soul, and Emotion flow as one, into a lasting effect to feel whole and complete.
See the vast list of insurance we accept, check out our caring staff of therapists, join our monthly newsletter, give us a call or fill out the form below to set up your first session.
Our team will speak with you to find the best therapist for what you need based on your availability. We offer in-person sessions in New Jersey in Brick, Manalapan, and Cranford, as well as virtual sessions. If after a few sessions, you’re not feeling like your therapist is the right fit, we are happy to find someone who is from our staff of over 150+ therapists.
We look forward to helping you navigate your feelings and thoughts around food and weight struggles and helping you feel a sense of calm and hope knowing that no matter what, you’ll be okay, and that you have the capacity to live a life of joy.
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