Buy Walking VideosGratitude Vs. Happy Memories
Even though I’m all about “loving yourself thin,” I have a low tolerance for hippie baloney. This article has a gratitude exercise that might help some to foster a more positive outlook, but it really wasn’t very helpful to me.
I’m not much of a gratitude person. I don’t really feel good knowing that the universe was perfectly aligned to create human life on this planet and I have a harder time feeling grateful that we are here. When I want to binge, I’m usually feeling pretty down, so it’s hard to come up with a list of things to be grateful about and when I read one I’ve written in the past, it sounds pretty stupid to me. It’s hard for me to remember how grateful I felt that I came into being on this planet when I wish I could just numb myself away.
What has worked better for me is the Happy Memories exercise. When I’m feeling happy and in the mood to reminisce, I write down various happy memories into a notebook. I write down a small description of the happy memory and then later, I write a whole page about it including all the five senses that I can. The thing is, I write the happy memories when I’m feeling happy, not when I’m feeling down.
When I feel down and I’m trying not to binge, I have been going back to my Happy Memories notebook. After reading a few of them, I remember how sweet life can be. Somehow, reliving the happy memories heals me a little bit and I can skip the binge.
I don’t know why that gratitude thing doesn’t work for me. It seems to work for Oprah and all the people who worship her, but it just kind of makes me angry when I’m in the bingeing mood. The statements of gratitude seem idealistic to me, even when they are my own words. The happy memories, however, were truly happy for me and my awful state of mind can’t deny their relevance.
Try both exercises and see what works for you. Fill your toolbox with as many techniques as you can!
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March 8th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Good point. I agree. Now I have a possibly useful option to try. When I am down, I write lame things like, “Well… I’m glad I have legs. I’m glad I can see. I’m thankful for food. I’m thankful I’m not homeless.” When I’m down, these are less joyful statements than grudging aknowledgments that it could be worse.