Distraction

shamihaalam612

Hi guys.I am an 18years old.I am a stress eater.What should I do?

yirara

How can you avoid stress?

springlering62

Some stresses can be removed, as simple as it sounds.

Whether it’s a job, a friend or boyfriend, evaluate if the stress created is equal to the return in satisfaction.

I’m old enough to be your grandma. When it reached the point my husband called my circle of friends “The Bitter Divorcees Club” and jokingly asked when he could expect the papers to be served, that I realized I’d fallen into the trap, trying to be a friend, that I was everyone’s dumping zone.

If you’re finding yourself in a similar situation where everyone piles their stress, their unhappiness, their dissatisfaction with life or work on you, reevaluate.

If you’ve got family members who expect you to make their lives right or solve their problems, step back, set boundaries.

Honey, you’re only 18. Life should be supremely happy for you right now. The only stress you should have is grades, and planning your future. Your cup is half full and all you should worry about is filling it til it overflows.

If other people or things are lapping away at your cup, pull the damn cup out of their reach.

As doofy as it sounds, when I have big life decisions and am stressed, I make a pro/con chart. What do I like about this? What don’t I like about it. Seeing it in writing clarifies it and helps me to see the bigger picture. I taught my girls to do the same thing, and though they laughed at me at first, they later said what a help that technique has been for them.

I wish I could give you a hug. Sounds like you need it.

springlering62

On a more immediate note, what can you do to keep your hands too busy to go to your mouth?

My go to is to get up and take a walk, or work on a craft, or even go vacuum something that doesn’t need it. Just move something besides your jaws.

Simple but effective.

age_is_just_a_number

I don’t know if these ideas would work for, but I find them helpful:
- set yourself up for success — I leave a large glass of water front and center in the kitchen, so when I go into the kitchen for anything, the first thing I see is that glass of water. I drink it, fill it and then often no longer feel the craving/need to look for a snack.
- Plan for snacks — pre-log your food and then eat what you’ve planned
- Do something else with your hands that doesn’t go well with eating. For me, this is brush my dog.
- add mindfulness/meditation to your daily routines to reduce stress. My son does 5-10 minutes of a guided meditation after every meal and it has had a really positive impact on him.

Take care

tmoneyag99

2 types of habit change are needed here.

1) Eliminating unnecessary stress. Some stress you can't get rid of. Some stress is good for you, it propels you to grow into a better version of yourself. So evaluate WHAT stress is making you eat.

Homework stress? Chew Gum when studying, and start studying earlier.

Do you have Parent stress from living at home? Follow their rules as long as they are reasonable and don't cross your personal boundaries. If they do, start saving up to get out.

2) Change how you cope with stress.
- Chew gum (sugar free)
- eat lower calorie foods under stress
- Go for a run/walk.
- Do some deep breathing mindfulness.

Also 3 -
Make a rule to eat only at the dining/kitchen table.
Make a rule also not to conduct any other business or entertainment at the kitchen/dinning table.

AnnPT77

Good advice above. Mild exercise is also a potential stress reliever. Being outdoors in nature has also been shown to reduce stress for many people. Breathing exercises, meditation or prayer, journaling, ditto for some people, even things like adult coloring books.

I'd also add this: With self-reflection, I realized that some of my stress was coming from . . . me. Sometimes lots of my stress was coming from me.

I got an insight that helped from - oddly - a management training class I took. Implementing the implications in my personal life wasn't instant or easy, but working at it has been helpful, I think.

The idea was that when something happens that I don't like - that creates stress, bad outcomes, other negatives - I should think about what I did to create, promote or allow that thing to happen.

The point isn't to beat myself up, because that would increases stress, right?

The point is that thinking in that way helps me figure out where I have leverage to change the situation. There's literally nothing positive that will come if I ruminate on things I can't do anything about. It's a waste of time and energy, and it increases stress with no outlet available.

If I want things to change, the positive way to spend my time and energy is to figure out how I can get over, around, through, or otherwise past the problem or situation in question. To do that, I need to identify what I control, or at least could influence in the situation. That has empowerment potential. It can lead to improvements.

Always, a thing I control - absolutely control - is my own reaction. I'm not saying it's always easy to control. Sometimes it's hard, very hard. But I have control. Ruminating or perseverating - i.e., not giving up thinking about the situation - is a reaction. Emotions are a reaction. Lashing out is a reaction, and external actions like lashing out can make situations worse rather than better in some cases. And yeah, sometimes having those reactions increases stress, plus stress is also a reaction.

Maybe that doesn't apply, maybe that doesn't make sense to anyone else . . . and for sure, for me it's an aim or goal to think about things this way, not a perfected practice. YMMV.

Best wishes!