This really hit home for me, Cath. I love the gentleness in your approach, especially the commitment to small, achievable changes instead of sweeping declarations. This is my reminder to pause and ask, “What does loving myself look like right now?” ❤️
Yes exactly! That’s how we make the big changes - by focusing on the moment to moment opportunities to turn to and embrace ourselves. It’s not weakness, we have just been taught the wrong things!!
Thank you Cath for sharing and shining a gentle, warm and curious light on this. To cut to the chase (as I do love my words 🤣) I have a very interesting relationship with sugar... the irony hits me hard as a dentist 😬🙈. Where am I? well I'm in a sort of "liminal sugar space" of reaching for my chocolate treats once my twins are in bed as a kind of comforting blanket reward that is filling some inner hole.
I am currently wresting with two "see-saw thoughts" which are " I really must eliminate this chocolate habit its wrecking my body!" to a more compassionate "everyone is doing something to get through motherhood" (the latter quoting your GYU podcast 🙏🏻).Accepting I may sit on this see-saw for a while!
I love your description of the liminal space Kate. It sounds like you have so much self awareness (which is wonderful) and I am so glad you can be compassionate with yourself around this. Motherhood in this late stage capitalist era (especially when we have not had our needs met in childhood) is hugely challenging and we have to reduce the burden on ourselves in all the ways we can, which includes not criticising ourselves. We make changes when we have enough capacity to do so x
This resonates with me, Cath. I have used food to self-soothe for a long time. I've also restricted food to self-soothe, interestingly enough! I feel grateful that these patterns are now conscious rather than unconscious, so I can attempt to tackle them. I would like to share a memory that came back to me recently. In the first days and weeks of motherhood, I remember being starving hungry a lot. I was breastfeeding and recovering from an emergency cesarean and I simply couldn't find the time / physically get up and cook etc to feed myself properly. That set me up for a new flavour of disordered eating for years because when I did finally manage to sit and eat something, I'd overeat for fear of the hunger returning. A few years down the line, I also recognise that hunger as being not only physical hunger but emotional hunger as I grappled with being responsible for a tiny human. I thought a toasted ham and cheese sandwich would fix me but of course it won't ever fill an emotional gap. I like to think of myself as being in a much healthier place now, viewing food as an energy source, exercise as a chance to gift my body a rush of endorphins rather than flagellation, but I'll always need to pay close attention to this. Thank you for writing so openly and honestly. Have a great week.
What a beautiful share Emily, thank you for sharing your memory. What you describe makes so much sense. There is so much wrapped up in how we eat and our safety and will there be enough. In the last few years I have really been sitting with this question: can I sit with what is underneath this? and it is an ongoing questioning which I will share more about. Take good care x
This really hit home for me, Cath. I love the gentleness in your approach, especially the commitment to small, achievable changes instead of sweeping declarations. This is my reminder to pause and ask, “What does loving myself look like right now?” ❤️
Yes exactly! That’s how we make the big changes - by focusing on the moment to moment opportunities to turn to and embrace ourselves. It’s not weakness, we have just been taught the wrong things!!
Thank you Cath for sharing and shining a gentle, warm and curious light on this. To cut to the chase (as I do love my words 🤣) I have a very interesting relationship with sugar... the irony hits me hard as a dentist 😬🙈. Where am I? well I'm in a sort of "liminal sugar space" of reaching for my chocolate treats once my twins are in bed as a kind of comforting blanket reward that is filling some inner hole.
I am currently wresting with two "see-saw thoughts" which are " I really must eliminate this chocolate habit its wrecking my body!" to a more compassionate "everyone is doing something to get through motherhood" (the latter quoting your GYU podcast 🙏🏻).Accepting I may sit on this see-saw for a while!
Thank you for your words x
I love your description of the liminal space Kate. It sounds like you have so much self awareness (which is wonderful) and I am so glad you can be compassionate with yourself around this. Motherhood in this late stage capitalist era (especially when we have not had our needs met in childhood) is hugely challenging and we have to reduce the burden on ourselves in all the ways we can, which includes not criticising ourselves. We make changes when we have enough capacity to do so x
This resonates with me, Cath. I have used food to self-soothe for a long time. I've also restricted food to self-soothe, interestingly enough! I feel grateful that these patterns are now conscious rather than unconscious, so I can attempt to tackle them. I would like to share a memory that came back to me recently. In the first days and weeks of motherhood, I remember being starving hungry a lot. I was breastfeeding and recovering from an emergency cesarean and I simply couldn't find the time / physically get up and cook etc to feed myself properly. That set me up for a new flavour of disordered eating for years because when I did finally manage to sit and eat something, I'd overeat for fear of the hunger returning. A few years down the line, I also recognise that hunger as being not only physical hunger but emotional hunger as I grappled with being responsible for a tiny human. I thought a toasted ham and cheese sandwich would fix me but of course it won't ever fill an emotional gap. I like to think of myself as being in a much healthier place now, viewing food as an energy source, exercise as a chance to gift my body a rush of endorphins rather than flagellation, but I'll always need to pay close attention to this. Thank you for writing so openly and honestly. Have a great week.
What a beautiful share Emily, thank you for sharing your memory. What you describe makes so much sense. There is so much wrapped up in how we eat and our safety and will there be enough. In the last few years I have really been sitting with this question: can I sit with what is underneath this? and it is an ongoing questioning which I will share more about. Take good care x