Combining Therapy with Weight Loss??

[EmMUK]

Oh and these are things I have gathered over my therapy which I thought I would share and might be useful to others


How to Beat Emotional Eating:

- make sure anything which numbs emotions is out of the house! an alcoholic wouldn't have drink in the house if they were trying to beat it

- have food and treats in the house which you like but are better for you e.g. fruit, raisins, low cal drinks, fat free ice cream etc

- if you want to eat stop and count to 10 and try to figure out which emotion you feel: depressed/sad/angry/worried/stressed/bored/happy/excited

- count to 10 again and ask yourself if you really want to eat or whether having a cry or a laugh or a chat with a friend or writing it down or listening to a CD or watching a film or having a bath would help

- if you need to eat something then pick something healthyish but a bit of a treat (like options drink)

- if you manage not to eat then reward yourself later with your favourite healthy food - this is then rewarding the control and giving yourself a pat on the back

***********************************************

Somebody Who Loves You

When you are feeling low, it is commonplace that friends and family can see your strengths and values even when you do not. We can use this fact to begin the process of loving and valuing ourselves. Here’s an exercise to help you begin to change the patterns of self-loathing that most of us have been carrying through-out our lives.

Before you do this exercise read through all the steps first.
1 - If it’s appropriate, close your eyes and think of someone who loves or deeply appreciates you. Remember how they look, and imagine they are standing in front of you now.

2 - Gently step out of your body and into the body of the person who loves you. See through their eyes, hear through their ears, and feel the love and good feelings they have as you look at yourself. Really notice in detail what it is that they love and appreciate about you. Recognise and acknowledge those amazing qualities that perhaps you hadn’t appreciated about yourself until now.

3 - Step back into your own body and take a few moments to enjoy those good feelings of knowing that you are loved and appreciated exactly as you are.

You can keep that inner feeling with you for hours and hours and re-run this exercise whenever you want to boost it. The more you do it, the easier it becomes, and eventually it becomes automatic to love and feel loved.

 

[Paws]

and so last month I joined OA and that's doing really well for me. I don't need CBT or any other therapy any more, I need support and somewhere to share and talk.

Sorry to be dim but what's OA?

 

[That's_So_Fetch]

Oh and these are things I have gathered over my therapy which I thought I would share and might be useful to others


How to Beat Emotional Eating:

- make sure anything which numbs emotions is out of the house! an alcoholic wouldn't have drink in the house if they were trying to beat it

- have food and treats in the house which you like but are better for you e.g. fruit, raisins, low cal drinks, fat free ice cream etc

- if you want to eat stop and count to 10 and try to figure out which emotion you feel: depressed/sad/angry/worried/stressed/bored/happy/excited

- count to 10 again and ask yourself if you really want to eat or whether having a cry or a laugh or a chat with a friend or writing it down or listening to a CD or watching a film or having a bath would help

- if you need to eat something then pick something healthyish but a bit of a treat (like options drink)

- if you manage not to eat then reward yourself later with your favourite healthy food - this is then rewarding the control and giving yourself a pat on the back

***********************************************

Somebody Who Loves You

When you are feeling low, it is commonplace that friends and family can see your strengths and values even when you do not. We can use this fact to begin the process of loving and valuing ourselves. Here’s an exercise to help you begin to change the patterns of self-loathing that most of us have been carrying through-out our lives.

Before you do this exercise read through all the steps first.
1 - If it’s appropriate, close your eyes and think of someone who loves or deeply appreciates you. Remember how they look, and imagine they are standing in front of you now.

2 - Gently step out of your body and into the body of the person who loves you. See through their eyes, hear through their ears, and feel the love and good feelings they have as you look at yourself. Really notice in detail what it is that they love and appreciate about you. Recognise and acknowledge those amazing qualities that perhaps you hadn’t appreciated about yourself until now.

3 - Step back into your own body and take a few moments to enjoy those good feelings of knowing that you are loved and appreciated exactly as you are.

You can keep that inner feeling with you for hours and hours and re-run this exercise whenever you want to boost it. The more you do it, the easier it becomes, and eventually it becomes automatic to love and feel loved.

Thank you Em, what a fab post. I think i will make a copy and print it off for my mood diary.

I haven't had an appointment with my psychologist yet but i will post any tips if we talk about my weight.

Thanks again xx

 

[dani34]

I definatly think therapy is a good idea! I feel thats far more important than losing the weight as until you sort the emotional issues you will just keep re gaining the weight.
How do you find a therapist that specialises in dietary stuff??

 

[That's_So_Fetch]

I definatly think therapy is a good idea! I feel thats far more important than losing the weight as until you sort the emotional issues you will just keep re gaining the weight.
How do you find a therapist that specialises in dietary stuff??

I am not 100% sure on this. I see a psychooogist because i was really unwell just over a year ago and it is a part of my treatment and recovery plan. It is with the NHS so totally free. My weight issues are being looked at because they are a big part of my life.

If you feel that your weight issues have a serious affect on your life you could ask your GP to refer you to see a psychologist. But the waiting lists are pretty long.

You can also have private psychotherapy. You should be abe to find therapy centre/clinics locally. I know i found alot looking through the yellow pages, but they can charge alot for an hour session.

You can also use self help books and DVDs etc. There might be self help groups aswell.

xx

 

[Paws]

I definatly think therapy is a good idea! I feel thats far more important than losing the weight as until you sort the emotional issues you will just keep re gaining the weight.
How do you find a therapist that specialises in dietary stuff??

I was recommended mine, but I was also advised to look at the BACP website: BACP - British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

I pay £30 for a one hour session.

Hope this helps!

 

[EmMUK]

OA - Overeaters Anonymous - it works on the same principle as AA for alcoholics where you meet every week and are allocated a sponsor who is there for you to help. obviously OA is a lot mo0re complicated than AA because you can't permanently remove food from your life, but it helps you identify which are your addictive foods, which foods and situations trigger you to binge and set up a healthy eating plan to learn to eat again.

Finding a therapist - BACP are fantastic and their website lists counsellors who are accredited in your area and also lists their specialisms. I searched on eating disorders to find mine, she deals with anorexics, bulemics and overeaters as well as other issues surrounding depression etc... I then spoke to her on the phone to confirm that we seemed compatible and then we started meeting.

Mood diary - this is something which is advocated by just about every organisation that tries to help people with psychological issues. it's a great idea and I use my online diary to put it all down as well as a notbook. it's a case of writing down your feelings and what you would like to do such as eat and then getting passed it. not only does it help you identify when you want to eat but it quite often gives you that space in your head to stop and think, no I won't eat right now.

hth

 

[EmMUK]

has anyone seen this in the papers today? fascinating.

'Happiness tsar' warns of therapy funding shortage

By Sophie Goodchild, Chief Reporter

Published: 06 May 2007



Radical plans to set up free "therapy for all" centres across the country could fail without proper funding, the Government's "happiness tsar" has warned.
Professor Richard Layard, the Labour peer and No 10 adviser, said he is concerned that patients suffering from anxiety and depression will not benefit unless cash is set aside for training up therapists.
In an interview with The Independent on Sunday, Lord Layard said: "There should be a proper plan for dealing with this problem and not a bit of a fudge of a bit of money that ends up with the creation of dumbed-down workforce."
The eminent economist has said he believes mental illness is the single greatest threat to a happy life. Last year, he published a report calling for a network of 250 treatment centres to be established staffed by 10,000 new therapists. These would provide "talking therapies" such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) - a treatment proven to help relieve low-level depression and anxiety which enables patients to overcome negative thinking.
Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, has said she wants to increase the use of counselling and announced the opening of two talking therapy pilot centres in Doncaster and East London.
This Thursday at a conference in London, Ms Hewitt is expected to further endorse the long-term benefits of therapy, as opposed to the quick fix results from anti-depressants, for those suffering from mild depression and anxiety. However, the Government has yet to commit to a comprehensive programme for talking therapies on the NHS on the scale suggested by Lord Layard. He says that unless the money is set aside now, then neither the patients nor the economy will benefit.
"I've never said CBT is a magic bullet," said Professor Layard, professor emeritous of economics at the London School of Economics. "But there is the danger that if people are not properly trained, the patients will not benefit."
An estimated one million people suffer from clinical depression and four million from clinical anxiety in Britainy. But only one in 10 gets to see a therapist and often only after a long wait.
This newspaper revealed earlier this year that around a third of NHS trusts are struggling with a backlog of patients desperate for talking therapies. More than 90 per cent of trusts have waiting lists of longer than a year for CBT. Wakefield West PCT in Yorkshire has a waiting list of 78 weeks.

'Happiness tsar' warns of therapy funding shortage - Independent Online Edition > Health Medical