The Healthy Blogger

Overeating in times of grief

It’s been two months since Michael Jackson died, and recently Janet talked to reporters about what she has been through.  It’s sad to see that she has turned to food to comfort her.  Anyone who has watched Janet Jackson over the years can see that she has had a weight problem.  In recent years, she has maintained a healthy weight, but if she is binging now, it may spell disaster for her.

It’s not surprising that grief can trigger an eating binge.  After all, overeating is a common symptom of depression, and grief is a temporary form of depression, which may become pathologic.  So, what can one do?

Social support is always important in dealing with grief.  Without it, a person may go into a nervous breakdown.  Being able to express their inner turmoil helps vent negative feelings.  When a death is expected, people have time to go through the stages of grief, but when it is sudden, there is no preparation.  So, those individuals go through grief without adequate closure.  If there is no social support, that person would best be advised to seek professional help in the form of a counselor, a pastor, or someone they can trust.

Medication, in my opinion, should be avoided if possible.  For one thing, many antidepressants can cause weight gain, which is no advantage to comfort food.  For another, antidepressants may dull a person’s senses, which does not help in dealing with all the emotions in grief.  Furthermore, there is always that “addiction” potential.

Relaxation techniques, such as yoga and meditation, may be helpful, if you know how to do it.  But, everyone should have an idea of what makes them relax.  Maybe, it’s just a nice soak in the bath, or listening to their favourite music. Adding these things into their routine may help relieve their minds and bodies.  Grief and depression wears a person down mentally and physically.

Some people turn to food because they recognise it as something that makes them relax.  They are feeding the body to relieve the mind.  This is understandable, but dangerous, as it can lead to obesity and other health problems.  It is difficult to remind yourself of the dangers of bad eating habits when your mind is on your grief.

So, the best thing is to focus your mind on something else.  When you’re sad or depressed, this may not be easy.  I find that sometimes, writing down my thoughts and feelings allows me to free my mind up of a problem.  I know that I can come back to it later, but I don’t have to focus on it in my mind after I’ve committed it to paper, or computer.  The same can probably apply to sad feelings.  This may be useful to those who do not have an immediate friend to turn to.  They can vent their frustrations and leave it.

Another technique to clear your mind is exercise.  Oh, yes, I can hear the groans.  But, it is true that exercise, even as it wears the body down, can refresh it.  Sluggishness accompanies weight gain and inactivity.  Exercise will keep you from reaching for that fattening snack or from making a nice, large comfort meal.

Going out to eat, or even shopping is always going to be a challenge.  There is overwhelming temptation in supermarkets and grocery stores to impulsively purchase snacks.  I know this because it is extremely tempting for me, even when I’m not feeling down.  The best way to avoid doing this is to make a list of what you need, not what you want.  Perhaps, making a menu and sticking to it (always provided that the menu is healthy).  Make sure the list does not include any unnecessaries and make sure not to buy anything not on the list.  As for eating out, if it is done infrequently, there is no need to be extra careful.

Overeating is an addiction and in times of sadness, addictions are very hard to overcome.  Finding other things to do to avoid overeating may be difficult.  Activities that were once enjoyed may not be able to satisfy.  However, it should be continued.  Normal routines should not be neglected.  In fact, making sure that they are done (such as household chores) can keep the mind off food.  Similarly, avoid activities associated with food, i.e. watching TV.

But, perhaps, the best chance of succeeding in avoiding comfort feeding is to have someone who can encourage you to stick to your goals.  Lonely people may be able to help themselves, but it has been documented that those who are socially isolated do have more health problems.  So, in times of grief and depression, you should not avoid all social events.

Autism is getting out of hand

It seems not a day passes that you don’t read something about autism.  Data states that one in 100 have some form of autism.  Though I will not deny that autism exists, it seems everyone has some form of it, such that anything and everything can be excused because of it.  It has become a scapegoat for people’s problems.  Minor social dysfunction is attributed to autism. What ever happened to the day when someone can just say they have difficulty with social interaction, rather than be classified as a disorder?  Can’t we leave these diagnoses to the most severe and obvious cases?

There is so much debate about the importance of having a diagnoses.  It is important when there is clear and defined treatment and there are objective data to follow to assess the effectiveness of treatment.  For example, blood pressure can be checked, treated, rechecked.  Similarly, diabetes can be measured and treated.  Less obvious, but still treatable are psychiatric diagnoses such as severe depression.  Milder forms fall into those borderline categories because most normal people will experience highs and lows in their life.

But anxiety and depression are no longer the fad diagnoses.  It’s autism.  I’ll bet everyone who was formerly diagnosed with ADHD, social anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc., is now being redefined and re-diagnosed as having some form of autism.  Is there really any objective measure – a specific gene defect or some biological marker that can be used to diagnose this?  If not, what will the next fad diagnosis be?

Now, I know that there are no biological markers for such things as severe depression and schizophrenia and such, but anyone who has been around such people can clearly say something was wrong.  Schizophrenics go into phases when they are not normal (of course, many sane people can easily mimic them, but that’s not the point – normal people don’t do it unless they are trying to be manipulative for some reason).  Major depression occurs without an inciting event, such as grief.  These people cannot understand why they are so depressed and are helpless to improve their moods.  Though there are no objective measures, science has been able to identify certain hormones involved in these mood disorders.

But, what about autism?  All we have are a set of behavioural disturbances.  In severe cases, they appear somewhat retarded.  But mild cases where people are high-functioning, how can they really be classified as autistic?  Why isn’t it some form of mild retardation?  Why isn’t it just severe social anxiety?  Why isn’t it just normal but extreme shyness?  And is there really any “treatment” for these cases?  No!  It’s just ridiculous.  I have a big issue with it because if I’m not careful, my children might be considered autistic and I know they are not.  I will go out of my way to point out their lack of social interaction and will not hide behind silly scapegoat diagnoses.

Social isolation from internet networking

We hear the warnings about being a couch potato, namely that it will lead to obesity and all its complications.  We know that physical inactivity leads to health problems.  Now, there is emphasis on the psychological problems that result from spending too much time on the computer.  That is, if we are on the computer simply to chat and network with others online.

It is known that people have become addicted to websurfing.  And, as they spend more time on the computer, they are spending less time with their friends and family.  There is a decline in social and physical relationships.  Experts warn that this leads to physical as well as psychological isolation.  And this isolation has been linked to health problems.  Studies have shown that those without a social network have poor coping skills and more stress, which then leads to poor health, as a result of a decrease in the functioning of the immune system.

Though some may argue that people networking on the web develop their own social group, this relationship is very superficial.  It does not provide true support that could be found in a real face-to-face relationship with another individual.  In addition, there is no physical contact, which has been shown to be quite therapeutic, especially during stress.   Therefore, these people become prey to many physical and psychological ailments.

In addition, because of the superficial nature of relationships on the web, people lose their ability to interact in real-life.  They have poor socialising skills, which further isolate them.  As they become more isolated, they are at increased risk for health problems.

So, experts are warning that people need to spend less time on the computer.  This becomes very difficult for many people, especially if they are already isolated.  More real-life social outlets need to be in place to help these people with social interaction.  If you know of someone who spends too much time in front of the computer, encourage them to get out and join in some group activities.

Getting 8 hours of sleep becoming impossible

Getting enough sleep has been stressed in order to maintain general well-being; with the recommended number of hours being eight.  I don’t know how they came up with this magical number, but since I can never seem to even get this number of hours in during the night, I cannot test the theory.  I do know that lack of sleep has certainly affected my concentration and memory.  Studies have shown that short-term lack of sleep, especially in people suffering from jet-lag and new parents, can affect memory, which can worsen if that lack of sleep is not remedied.

Besides the memory issues, I have to face fatigue and lethargy.  Though some people may advocate caffeinated drinks to overcome this, I have not found that it helps.  It seems to make it worse for me.  My problem is that even if my body is ready to go, my mind might not be.  Or vice versa.  Unless both mind and body are functioning together, I cannot be productive.

Some days, when I have nothing planned for the day, I might sleep in to catch up on the sleep.  You’d think that would help, but instead it exacerbates the fatigue.  After a few nights of less than eight hours sleep, it seems my body starts to adjust and if I sleep in, then it seems to want more.  It becomes a vicious cycle.  This recession has not helped any, because the added financial stress makes it difficult for me to fall asleep.

I will need to come up with some good relaxation techniques in order to overcome the stress and sleep problems.  As studies have shown that recession can lead to a decline in public health, I need to take special care to avoid becoming a statistic.