For those who know me well know that I do not have a sweet tooth (not for all things sweet, at least). They also know that I say ‘I eat sweet stuff when I am stressed’.
Epiphany of the day
I don’t eat sweet stuff when I am stressed, I am an emotional eater!
Let me take you 30 minutes back in my day to explain how did this epiphany actually happen. Despite a good, heavy and healthy breakfast, I found myself reaching for random snacks (I don’t do it all the time). It wasn’t that I was hungry or didn’t enjoy my breakfast. I realised that I was uncertain. Uncertain about how I felt because I was not getting anywhere with the page I was trying to design. When I tried to journal to unpack my thoughts/feelings, I couldn’t really come up with much. When I got stuck and couldn’t understand how exactly it made me feel, I reached for my phone to occupy my mind!!
I am pretty sure I am not the only one who:
- Cannot explain long bouts of Insta scrolling
- Binge watching the randomest of Youtube videos
- Reaching for food when on a full stomach (and complaining later!)
- Spending long moments thinking about what to do and knowing exactly what needs to be done but being unable to do it
- A few others that I cannot recall right now
These are some common behaviors, so common that talking about these with new people actually serve as a really good icebreaker conversation (tried and tested). But here’s the epiphany, I didn’t know how I felt in that moment, so I picked up my phone, and instead of figuring out how I felt, I started watching Youtube and stumbled across Mel Robbins’ super relatable video.
What’s the connection between uncertainty and emotional behaviors we indulge in that we cannot explain?
So long as we are unable to articulate how we feel, we tend to look for comfort in other things (eating something sweet, watching a video, social media scrolling, etc.), and when you try to unpack how you’re feeling, you’re unable to find a word that fits! This is where the whole spiral of uncertainty begins and we lose track of our day and what we set out to do. It might not be true for all or most, but certainly is for me.
What helped me in unpacking how I was feeling is the feelings wheel. I identified what I was feeling, having these words in front of my eyes helped and then I journaled about that feeling.
To know what I was feeling and being able to pin point it was powerful, liberating and empowering. After that, the distractions didn’t really seem to bother and I could get on with my day. The next time it happens to you, go check out the feeling wheel and identify what’s nagging at you. Worked like a charm for me, might just do the trick for you too!
