We’re told that grief has stages that we move through, that there is an end to the process. But the truth is much more complex than that. While its intensity can lessen over time, there are often triggers, sometimes unexpected ones, that bring up feelings in new and painful ways.

And while grief is a common experience, it is still a topic many feel uncomfortable talking about. For example, if you’ve lost someone you love, others in your community might not know how to talk to you about it even if you want to keep the conversation—and memory—of your person present. Others often worry they are making you feel worse you by asking how you’re coping.

If you are struggling with grief right now, we want you to know there is no right or wrong way to move through it. To start, reach out to someone you trust or get support from a therapist to help guide you. You might be surprised how freeing it feels to have a safe space to cry or rage. This can create a release of emotions that you don’t hav...

When it comes to supporting our mental health, we tend to start with the big things: the quality of our sleep, what we eat, going to therapy, taking medication. This can lead to more confidence and awareness which are powerful tools! But you might also begin to notice that working on yourself has shifted your relationships with others in ways you didn’t expect.

As you implement changes in your life and your perspective shifts, you might find you grow annoyed or feel critical towards others you usually have felt ok around. You might even feel like you can’t show or talk about who it is you’re becoming. Your immediate reaction might be to blame yourself, piling on the guilt that you’re a “bad friend” or a “bad person” because you’re thinking about others differently, even critically.

If you dig past those uncomfortable feelings, you’ll notice that it isn’t about them, but that getting clearer on your values (and setting boundaries that go along with them) means you no longer align with...

From easy-to-use apps to therapy practices, mindfulness seems to be an ever-present technique for managing our fast-paced world. But is it more than just a buzzword? Research shows that being more mindful can reduce stress and anxiety, alleviate depression, support your physical health, and more!

In today’s blog post, we’re breaking down just how you can implement this powerful tool into your life with just a few minutes at a time.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is bringing awareness to the present moment. This looks like tapping into what your body is feeling, what thoughts or feelings are floating to the surface, and what you can see and feel (like the sunshine on your face). That might sound intimidating—especially if you’re someone who eats to avoid intense emotions—but acknowledging sensations, smells, and in the present moment means you can let go of anxiety of the future or grief over the past.

How can it help me with my emotional eating?

Emotional eaters often reach for ...

The restrictions from the pandemic has left many looking for a renewed sense of connection. Online get togethers got us through social distancing, but there seems to be a growing desire to meet up again in person.

You might be reading that and thinking “Not me! I thrived with more alone time”, and while that might be true (we all need opportunities to recharge) even introverts need a community they can tap into just as much as extroverts!

We’ve written before about how creating connection can help with feelings of loneliness (a major trigger for emotional eating), but getting a feeling of connection doesn’t have to mean a filled-to-the-brim calendar of social events. It is true that you can have a small circle of friends that you feel close to or be surrounded by many people and feel lonely. Connecting with others isn’t about the number of people you interact with or events you attend, it’s how it makes you feel! So, here are some ideas for you to try out in your own life to create c...

There may come a time on your journey where you feel like you want to explain how and why you emotionally eat to those you trust. You might feel in your gut that you would benefit from opening up and sharing your experiences. But emotional eating is complex, where should you even begin? We’ve got a number of concrete examples below to help guide you!

We want to be clear: you don’t have to explain or justify your feelings or actions to others. This post is intended to support those who feel like speaking about their experiences to someone they trust will help support them on their journey. Remember: no one gets to comment on your body (even if it is weight loss).

A good first step is to check in with your person and see if they have capacity for you to share. This can set the tone of your interaction by encouraging limiting distractions, finding a quiet space, and making sure they are in a good mental place to support you.

Start by explaining the link between emotions and food, that ...

We recently asked our followers what time of day they feel is the worst for their emotional eating. And an overwhelming number of you said night time. Know that you are not alone! It is incredibly common to have the evenings be a time where emotional or binge eating ramps up. And there are very good reasons why you overeat late at night, and none of them are because you’re “crazy” or “lack willpower.” Here are 5 common reasons emotional eating comes up at night and what you can do to address each one.

You ate how you “should” during the day. Restricting what and how much you eat throughout the day will ultimately lead to binge eating (even if you are trying to “reset” from your last binge!). Not only is your body asking for more food, it is asking for food that is pleasurable. At the end of the day, you’re left feeling hungry and unfulfilled.

• Solution: No matter what you ate the night before, start the next day off with a clean slate: have foods you enjoy all day or earlier in the
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January always has that fresh feeling! There are 12 months to come and the possibilities feel endless. This might give you the knee-jerk feeling to set all the goals, including weight loss ones. You might be thinking, in this atmosphere that feels like anything is possible, that *this* year is the one you “lose the weight for good.” You’ve made a grocery list, thrown out the last of the holiday foods, and you signed up for that new gym membership.

But did you know that about 95% of diets fail? January might feel new and exciting, but many weight loss resolutions end before it even becomes February. That’s because restriction sets you up for binge eating—it becomes a cycle where you are depriving yourself “on the wagon” and then feel out of control when you give into cravings.

Instead of focussing on the number on the scale, here are examples of New Year’s resolutions to support your mind, body, and soul!

Add happiness habits.

You’ll notice this one is about adding in new things, in...

Holiday movies and social media show us that the holiday season needs to be a certain level of perfect: everyone must be happy, your house must be spotless but also have decorations everywhere, and key memories have to be made. This is what is considered holiday perfectionism, when everything must be done to a certain level or else you feel stressed out, disappointed in yourself, or like a failure.

Women are especially susceptible to falling into the trap of holiday perfectionism because they constantly get messages from childhood to be everything to everyone. They are the ones to make the gift lists, do the shopping, the baking, coordinate the social calendars of spouses and kids. Plus, there is a gender stereotype that women need to be pleasant in the face of any scenario. It is exhausting!

Give yourself a break this year with these 4 tips to feel less stressed about achieving perfection this season:

• Take stock of what you can let go of. Consider what you think is expected of yo
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You might think of emotional eating as something that comes up for you when you have strong feelings like anger, stress, or sadness. These are emotions that are usually easy to identify by your inner dialogue or your outward reactions like tears or yelling. But emotional eating can sneak in with all kinds of feelings.

Ones you may not have thought about is eating when you’re bored or lonely. These reasons for overeating can be challenging to identify because we often do them without any sense of awareness. You’re not feeling overly emotional and yet you find yourself walking the same route to the fridge or pantry thinking it is simply routine.

When you’re bored or lonely, food as a solution to missing a connection makes sense. Your favorite treats feel comforting, plus they are easily available—it never lets you down or doesn’t show up (like you might be feeling about people).

The first thing to do is to find out what kind of connection you’re looking for: is it a social connection ...

The following blog posts talks about calorie counting in some detail. If this is something that might bring up negative feelings for you, please skip this post to protect your mental and physical health. 💛

After eating emotionally you might be thinking you need to do a complete 180 and get really strict about what and how you’re going to eat next. A common way to feel in control of your eating is to count your calories. It’s become so easy these days as the diet industry has created apps that are always in the palm of our hands and can even scan labels!

Often clients will be able to white knuckle their way through a few days of eating low calorie only to find themselves binge eating at the first sign of stress, alone time, or even faced with a dinner they can’t ‘log’. And it can feel like being right back where you started after the initial overeating episode.

Very often it feels scary to let go of counting calories, but doing so can bring you back in-tune with your body in a way yo...