Categories
Self-Help on Life

How to Live Life One Day at a Time

By Dominique Duarte

Do you feel stressed? If you want to relieve some stress, try to take life one day at a time. You can use daily affirmations, find your gifts by exploring your interests, take care of yourself, hygiene included. I know that sounds extreme, but when people are depressed or lacking self-esteem, hygiene may be neglected. You can also learn to take daily action toward your goals, and surround yourself with positive family and friends to support you.

Write & Recite a Daily Affirmation

We all have days when we are not feeling our best. You need to have a pick me up and this does not mean going to caffeine, drugs, alcohol, weed, or food to feel better. Feel your feelings! We are not going to feel positive all the time and this is okay. It is better to feel the feelings than avoid and suppress them. However, you can overcome persistent negative feelings by reciting an affirmation or mantra to get you out of your inner-bully. If you do not want to write an affirmation, there are plenty of affirmations that you can find online and repeat to yourself when you are feeling low.

Read Affirmations for Success: https://amzn.to/3oEqYiB

Find & Cultivate Your Gifts

We all have at least one gift. People see singing, dancing and acting as a gift, but teaching, cooking, organizing, planning, encouraging, writing, styling, are all gifts and there are plenty where that came from. I am always surprised at how many people do not actively use their gifts and passions. Once you find your gifts, cultivate them like a garden so they will blossom.

Believe it or not, natural talent can only get you so far. If you want to become great in your calling or purpose, you will have to put in hard work. Read, watch, and talk to people who possess your gifts and learn as much about them as possible. When you know why you are here on Earth, you will feel better about yourself and will flourish.

Read Find Your Place: Locating Your Calling through Your Gifts, Passions, and Story: https://amzn.to/3Q4a5cE

Take Daily Action Toward Goals

A planner will be your best friend. You can use your phone, but I go old school with a small planner where I write everything down and use my handy dandy pen to scratch off things as I complete each task. You will feel so good about yourself when you see that you are getting things done. Write your long term goals and post them on your wall.

Then, write down the actions you need to take in order to accomplish those long term goals. Figure out how you can spread out those actions daily, as well as weekly. This is the type of planning that leads to success. Goals are amazing, but if you do not have a plan of action to accomplish it, your goals are in vain. Take action, cross if off your planner as you go, and your dreams will start to become reality.

Planner: https://amzn.to/3oKIX74

Make time for Self-Care

If you are not taking care of yourself, you will not feel encouraged. Get up, brush your teeth, shower, put on some clean clothes, take walks, go to the spa, get a massage, get your nails done, get your hair done, go to the park, ride your bike, go outside. If you are on a tight budget, find and attend free events, do something that you enjoy.

Furthermore, learn to say no sometimes to make sure you are making time for you. You cannot be a help to someone if you are operating at a deficit. Make it a habit to do these things at least once or twice a week and your mood will improve and this will put a little peep in your step. If you are grinding all the time and not taking time to live life, then you will struggle to stay centered and regulated.

52 Stress Less & Self Care Cards – Mindfulness & Meditation Exercises – Anxiety Relief & Relaxation: https://amzn.to/3PP6QGo

Surround Yourself with Positive Family & Friends

Listen, you do not want to be unsupportive to family and friends who are having personal struggles. However, there is a difference between when people are having a hard time for the moment and when someone is negative in general. You know the difference, trust yourself. You can limit contact and you can set boundaries with toxic family and friends.

Set boundaries with negative people so that you protect your own heart. Spending time with positive family and friends is a necessary component to feeling encouraged and becoming your best self. If you do not have any positive family and friends, use positive youtubers to be your supportive friends.

Read Boundaries: https://amzn.to/3SiHimO

Conclusion

If you want to live life one day at a time, speak affirmations to yourself every day, ask yourself questions to help you find your natural gifts. Once you have found those gifts, cultivate them and continue to grow in those talents.

Take action toward your goals and surround yourself with a positive network of people, whether real or virtual. Who are you spending your time with? Do they have a growth mindset? Remember, you become like the 5 people that you spend the most time with, so choose your closest peeps wisely.

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte

How do live life one day at a time? Comment below!

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/the-best-ways-to-process-your-negative-feelings/

Categories
Self-Help on Life

How to Overcome Intergenerational Trauma

Gerry🧠🌱 on X: "When we heal ourselves, we heal the next generation that follows. Pain is passed through the family line until someone is ready to feel it, heal it, and let

According to Verywellmind.com, Intergenerational Trauma is “trama that is passed down from a trauma survivor to his/her descendants.” Oprah and Dr. Perry’s book “What Happened to You?”, discusses the generational trauma in African American families due to slavery and Jim Crow. Jim Crow laws and slavery ended long ago, but the effect on black families in the U.S. is still apparent, even in 2024.

Since African Americans did not immigrate to America like other people, our sense of community was not established as thoroughly as immigrants. Furthermore, black people are still the least likely to go to therapy. In order to overcome intergenerational trauma, learn your family history, find a therapist or mentor, process your role in your family, and figure out your future with your family.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-integenerational-trauma-5211898

Find a Mentor or Therapist

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/why-we-should-go-to-therapy/

Therapy gives you an analysis of your life’s history and why things are the way they are in your life. Therapy is not about blaming people for your life issues, but it gives you a bird’s eye view of what traumas you have experienced and how it has shaped you into who you are today. If you have tried therapy to no avail, then seek a mentor. This can be someone a bit older and more experienced with life to guide you. A therapist or mentor can help you process your intergenerational trauma.

Learn Your Family’s History

If you do not know your past, you will repeat it. Learn about your family’s strengths, weaknesses, the origin stories as far back as you can go, major events, and the causes and effects of those events. If you know your family’s history, it can give you more perspective and helps you remember that your family members are also flawed humans. Since we are so close to our families, we tend to forget this. Growing up, everyone in my family seemed larger than life to me, but the older I got the more I realized that they are just humans trying their best like me.

Process Your Role in Your Family

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/invisible-bruises/202303/8-common-dysfunctional-family-roles

Figure out what your role is in your family and possibly the why behind this position. Roles include: the scapegoat, the golden child, the hero, identified patient, the lost child, the caretaker, or the parentified child. In my immediate family, I was an only child and the center of attention, but my spiritual, mental, and emotional needs were not being met. In my extended family, I was the lost child. I was not accomplished enough for much familial praise. However, since I was not creating controversy in the family I was ignored. Your role in your family is often influenced by intergenerational trauma.

How to Help Kids Learn with Family Trees - BKReader

Figure Out Your Future with Your Family

There is no right or wrong answer to your future with your family. You can forgive them, but still not have them in your life. On the other hand, you can forgive and have family in your life with boundaries. Also, you can just ask yourself: Would I want this person in my life as a friend? Take it one day at a time, one family member at a time.

Figure out which bonds can be strengthened, which bonds could be limited temporarily or permanently. Society says family is supposed to be very close because you share blood. This can be alot of pressure when that has not been your reality in the past. It is easier to connect with people outside of my family and always has been. Sometimes, you have to create your own family so figure out what works best for you.

Conclusion

Until therapy, I did not have the words to describe how I felt about my family. There is no beef with anyone, but not much connection either and my family history influenced this dynamic for sure. My role as the lost child in my family was set before I was born. I moved to NYC and I thought that would solve the feelings, but it just put a temporary band aid on it. Processing intergenerational trauma is a challenging process that will take time. Be patient with yourself and your family members as you process intergenerational trauma.

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte

What role do you think you have in your family? Comment below!

Categories
Self-Help on Life

How to Manage Loneliness in Life

blue and white abstract painting
Photo by Emre Can Acer on Pexels.com

Our life experiences are unique. Why do some people have so many people around them and others don’t? Some people seem to always have others around them all the time. Of course having several people around you does not gurantee a lack of loneliness in your life. It is not the quantity, but the quality of relationships. Everyone gets lonely sometimes, but loneliness is a constant companion for some people for years. Be fruitful with your time alone, put yourself out there, and develop your communication skills to manage loneliness in your life.

Book Suggestion: How to Win Friends & Influence People: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034

Be Fruitful With Your Time Alone

Spend time getting to know yourself. Try to take long walks, go to the movies, meditate, pray, read books, take yourself on dates, and become attuned to inner self. The more you know yourself, the more confident you will become to others. When you are comfortable with yourself, you will attract positive people in your life. Furthermore, when you know what you are interested in, you can eventually find your circle of friends.

Put Yourself Out There

Putting yourself out there is highly overused in society, but there is some truth to the statement. Friends are not going to just drop into your apartment or house randomly. You will have to put in some work to build relationships. Volunteer, join organizations that interest you, find people in your industry or career field. Use https://www.meetup.com/ to meet people with similar hobbies, careers, or interests. If going out all the time is overwhelming for you, try to challenge yourself to go out a couple of times a month. If money is an issue, find some free activities to meet people.

Develop Your Communication Skills

Most of us think that we are great communicators. However, when you develop relationships with people on a deeper level, your communications skills are going to be truly tested. Can you disagree with someone in a respectful way? When you are angry or upset, do you know how to self-regulate? What triggers you and why? Do you stand up for yourself effectively when challenged?

No one should put up with abusive behavior from people, but relationships will have conflict sometimes. We are human and conflict is inevitable. Conflict resolution is a necessary skill to have successful friendships and romantic relationships. If you continue to isolate yourself from people when conflict arises, then you will be lonely. Work to improve your conflict resolution skills in order to gain friends, you have to learn how to be a friend too.

Conclusion

NYC can be an extremely lonely place to live for me personally, but I realize that I could have pushed myself to socialize a bit more during the past 7 years. Dealing with people can be difficult, especially when you isolate regularly or struggled to fit in during your formative years. Developing your communication skills, being fruitful with your time alone, and putting yourself out there will strengthen your self-esteem. When your self-esteem increases, then you will find your circle or support system no matter where you live.

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-make-friends-in-adulthood/

How do you make friends? Comment Below

Categories
New York City Life

The Pros and Cons of Living in New York City

New York City can be one of the most exciting places for people and one of the most difficult places to live for most people. NYC is full of beauty and excitement, but can also be filled with high anxiety and difficulty. This article highlights the pros and cons of living in New York City. Let’s explore the pros and cons about existing in the Big Apple long term.

Pro: Accessible Public Transit Options

The NYC subway runs 24/7. Most ferries and busses also run all day everyday as well. You will not find these many public transit options anywhere in the country. In fact, owning a car is actually more of liability in this super expensive city. The good news is you never have to drive again. New Yorkers can get to New Jersey or Connecticut with ease using the PATH or Metro North trains. So pop in your headphones, pull out your kindle, or ipad, and relax on your daily commutes on the various forms of public transit in NYC.

Con: Long Commutes/ Transit Delays

The downside of public transit is there are delays, emergencies, flooding issues, and multiple factors than can interrupt your commute anytime. You can get to the subway station and find out that your train is not running at all. There have been times where we all get kicked off the subway train for an emergency. In order to combat these possible delays, please give yourself at least an hour and a half to get to your destination.

Pro: City is Convenient for Walking and Biking

This is an amazing city for walking and biking. You can easily hit your step goals here and get a free workout on your way to work. Furthermore, everyday is leg day in NYC since there are several sets of stairs to climb daily. Several New Yorkers choose to bike to work as an alternative to taking public transit. This saves so much money in the long run. On a gorgeous day, there is no better joy than riding your bike or taking a stroll down the street or in one of the beautiful parks.

Con: Lack of Community

If you want to find a community, it is going to be quite a task in this city. The average New Yorker has at least two jobs, and at most five jobs. EVERYONE is hustling constantly. This means that trying to schedule plans with people is a nightmare. If you have friends that live in a different borough, you may only see them a few times a year. It takes me an hour and fifteen minutes to get to my friend’s place in the Bronx and takes even longer to get to my other friend’s home in Queens. People are pretty disconnected and it can be quite lonely at times.

Pro: High Hourly Wages

NYC is intimdidating for people from other states because the wages are so low in other parts of the country. People assume they would have to live in NYC on their current state wages. You can make a living here. It is not impossible. Yes, New York is expensive and the rent is very high. However, the minimum wage in NYC is $15 an hour compared to $7.25 an hour in most other states. Fortunately, most NYC employers pay way more than $15 an hour here. Since you have higher wages, you can make a living in NYC. A two-income household can have a pretty comfortable life here.

Con: Dishonest and Unethical Employers

You do run into a significant issue in New York with dishonesty in the workplace from management. You could say that this goes on everywhere, but it is on a larger scale in NYC. Regulations are super strict in here, so employers often cut corners to beat the system. This is usually to the detriment of their employees and customers. It is not uncommon for a business to be open one day and the next day, there will be a sign saying it was closed by of the NYC Department of Health, or the Department of Buildings.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the pros and cons of living in NYC permanently. People either love or hate NYC and there is rarely an in-between. Truthfully, I do not hate it here, but the love is starting to wane. There are an infintie amount of opportunities here. However, living in NYC sometimes feels like a full-time job with the constant grind. In conclusion, NYC living is not for the faint of heart. For some people, living here may only be for a season, but will be a forever home for many for a multitude of reasons.

https://bydominiqueduarte.com/what-do-you-love-or-hate-about-living-in-nyc/

Book Suggestion: https://www.amazon.com/Love-ish-New-York-City/dp/1797216554

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte

What pros and cons do you have about your home city?

Categories
Self-Help on Life

How to Manage Life After College

Winston Groom Quote: “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're

“Life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” -Forest Gump. Who knows how to manage life after college? I learned that the quote above it so true to life. the Forrest Gump is a classic film that I have watched growing up. The quote above was just a funny saying to me at the time. But I had no idea how accurate this quote would be in my life. I graduated college 11 years ago in December and it has been quite a wild ride. Managing life after high school and college is not for the faint of heart.

2013-2016- NYC & Back Home Again

On January 2nd, 2013, I moved to NYC. I decided to move back home to Memphis three weeks later at the end of January. I stayed in Memphis for three years, but those three years were necessary for me to grow as a performer and a person. I performed more in those three years in Memphis than I have in the last seven years since living in NYC. Leaving NYC in 2013 was a setback at the time, but moving back home taught me to make the most of the setback.

2016-2017- NYC & AMDA

In 2016, I decided to move back to NYC after getting accepted into AMDA. On August 6, 2016, I moved back to NYC. I got a job at the Disney Store in Times Square, and took classes at AMDA, full-time conservatory from October 2016 until June 2017. I received a signficant scholarship to go to AMDA. I took a small personal loan the first year to cover the left over cost and was approved without a co-signer. However, I could not get approved for another small loan for the second year.

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-wait-patiently/

2017-2018- AUDITIONS

I left AMDA after two semesters and began to audition in NYC. I got callbacks on my first two live auditions, which was amazing. I got an agent and manager in February 2018 and booked a musical in Colorado from March until May 2018. I came back to NYC and auditioned regularly while I worked full-time at Trader Joe’s. Due to burnout from performing, I decided to take a break from acting at the end of 2018.

2019-2020-Teaching & Church, Pre-Pandemic

In 2019, I began working for the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services as a teaching artist for the Arts & Literacy Program. In February of 2020, I applied and was hired as a full-time teacher at Achievment First Crown Heights Elementary for the 2020-2021 school year. During this time, I finally found a church home in NYC at Bethany United Methodist in Brooklyn. I joined the church about a week before the shutdown for COVID.

2020-2022- Teaching, Return to Acting

In order to teach at Achievement First, I had to enroll at Relay Graduate School of Education to study Elementary Education. I completed my first year of teaching and graduate school. However, my second year was not as successful for teaching or finishing my degree. I worked at two other schools my second year of teaching, but quit both schools before the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

Then, I took a leave of absence from grad school and began acting again after a 3-year hiatus. Surprisingly, I booked quite a bit of acting work in 2022 in television, film, as well as a play and a new musical reading. During this time, I worked at Jazz at Lincoln Center, returned to the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services, and began working in catering for Amerivents as well as Cipriani.

2023- A Year of Several Changes

2023 was a roller coaster of changes. In January, my catering jobs slowed down to nothing. In late 2022, I quit my jobs at Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Coalition because I thought I would make more money I worked more hours at the catering jobs. Once the catering jobs came to a halt in January, I enrolled in classes to get a security guard license and work as a flex security guard. At the same time, I applied for teaching jobs again. I got a position as a 6th grade math teacher at a school in the Bronx and reenrolled at Relay for my final semester.

2023- Brief Return to Teaching & Setback

When I re-enrolled in graduate school, I was hopeful that I would finish out the school year with a master’s degree in Elementary Education. However, I was asked to be dishonest by my leadership team at the school. I thought about being dishonest because at this point I felt desperate to keep this job to finish the degree.

But once my professor informed me that what I was being asked to do was against state regulations, I decided to resign. No one tells you that there are consequences for honesty. It was already April by this time so I did not finish my master’s degree again for the second time.

I resigned from teaching and went back to catering just in time for the busy season. I continued auditioning again and booked a staged reading for a new musical in NYC, a staged musical presentation in Pennsylvania, and a national choral tour that I loved. What started out as a really rough year turned out to be one of the most memorable years by early November.

End of 2023

November and December took me on another wild ride. I finished my tour on November 5th and returned home to a bit of a cultural shock. I went back to catering, but I knew that catering was going to slow down in January so I tried to find other jobs. I accepted three jobs within a few weeks.

Conclusion

2024 is a brand new year and I am thankful for it. I have learned quite a bit in just the last few weeks. I am learning to stand up for myself more and do things that are more aligned with my values. Yes, I want to act and perform, but I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur as well. My focus this year is to make that a reality. I started my own business in Tennessee and I can do that again in NYC. Working for myself is my ultimate goal and I pray that it comes to fruition. Life will throw things at you, but you have to just pivot and keep going. Be persistent and consistent!

Book Suggestion: The Power of Persistence: How to Stop Quitting on Yourself and Achieve Your Goals: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Persistence-Quitting-Confidence-Willpower/dp/1640954694

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte

Categories
Mental Health

How to Overcome Anxiety

Anxiety will always be a part of life. However, it becomes an issue when the anxiety interferes with your daily life. Anxiety is necessary to protect yourself from danger, but it is counterproductive when there is no actual threat. Ackowledge the anxiety, seek a mentor or therapist, and find a fulfilling outlet to overcome anxiety.

Reading Suggestion: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle: https://shop.eckharttolle.com/products/the-power-of-now

Acknowledge The Anxiety

Pushing and ignoring your anxiety will only make your anxiety worse. The more you try to repress, the more intense the feeling can become in the long-term. Acknowledge your anxiety so that you are completely honest with yourself. If we pay attention to a problem, then we can begin to work on healthy coping mechanisms to handle the issue when it arises.

Seek a Mentor and/or Therapist

Therapy can be a tool that can give insight into what is causing your anxiety. A mentor or life coach can give you strategies as well. Mentors and therapists can be objective when working with you. If you know what causes an issue, then you can begin eliminating or narrowing down what triggers your anxiety.

Find an Outlet

If you want to relieve anxiety, find something that you like to do for fun. Sometimes we have tons of anxiety because we are not resting or doing fun activities that bring us joy. If you do not know what you like, try some new things to figure out what brings you joy. Working all the time without a healthy outlet will increase your anxiety.

Conclusion

When you are honest with yourself about your anxiety, you can begin to work on handling it. The more you pretend that it does not exist, the more anxious you become. Find a mentor or therapist to assist you with finding a cause for the anxiety. Then, you can begin using healthy tools to cope when feeling anxious. A healthy outlet, such as a morning routine, evening routine, taking a walk, going to the gym, or reading a book, can release some of your anxious feelings.

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/the-best-ways-to-process-your-negative-feelings/

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte

Do you have anxiety? If so, what do you do to relieve your anxiety? Comment Below!

Categories
Self-Help on Life

How Do You Find Your Voice in the World

Stephen Covey - Find your voice and inspire others to find...

Welcome to the year 2024! 2023 was the first year that I began using my voice in my daily life. It has taken years to find my voice. Now, I am working on using my voice consistently and effectively during conflicts. Finding your voice is a process so please give yourself grace. Sitting in silence, setting boundaries, and exposing yourself to diversity can help you find your voice in the world.

Sitting in Silence

Our phones, ipads, and social media have become constant distractions in our lives. We are always influenced by everything around us. Sitting in silence can give you a chance to check in with your inner thoughts and feelings. So, try yoga, meditation, journaling, or taking a long walk outside to rest your brain. Start with just 5 minutes of silence a day. You can add on more time each week or each month if possible.

Set Boundaries

Setting boundaries is the only thing you can control when dealing with other people. Remember that you cannot control anyone or their behavior. However, you can set expectations about how you would like to be treated in a firm, and calm manner. This is a way to use your voice and take your power back in a sticky situation. If people continue to break your boundaries, then perhaps it is time to move on without that relationship, whether it be work, family, or friendships.

Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab https://www.nedratawwab.com/set-boundaries-find-peace

Expose Yourself to Diversity

Furthermore, try to expose yourself to a variety of viewpoints on a multitude of subjects. You can try to surround yourself with people of different races, ethnicities, interests, and socioeconomic statuses. If you only hang around people that look and think like you, then your ideas and beliefs will rarely be challenged. This will give you a limited view of the world as a whole. Diversity is essential to finding your voice within the world.

Conclusion

In conclusion, finding your voice and using it consistently will be a life long process for you. Siting in silence gives you a chance to discover your voice. Setting boundaries with people gives you a chance to use your voice with others. Lastly, exposing yourself to diversity can give you a wider perspective about the world as a whole.

Hope this helps,

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/the-best-ways-to-process-your-negative-feelings/

Dominique Duarte

Do you think you have found your voice in the world?

Why or why not? Comment Below

Categories
Work & Jobs

The Best Ways to Find a Job

Job hunting can be quite the experience for everyone. It can be arduous, time consuming, and exhausting. The job market is super competitive right now, so you need to be prepared with your best resume and cover letter to stand out from the other candidates. Assess your skill sets, apply for hundreds of jobs, and prepare for your job interviews in order to find a job.

Assess Your Skill Sets

What are your talents? What skills have you acquired thus far? Analyze your work experience and the skills that you have acquired from past work. If you do not have much work experience, then list any volunteer work or internships on your resume. Your resume can make or break you from getting a job interview. Your resume should be a summary of your past jobs and highlight your skill sets within each position that you held.

Apply for Hundreds of Jobs

Applying for jobs is a numbers game so you should apply for as many jobs as possible. Apply for hundreds of jobs at a time. Use https://www.indeed.com/ to apply for a massive amount of jobs in a short period of time by uploading a resume to the website. When you apply for jobs make sure these are jobs that conincide with your past work experience and skill sets. Please make sure the resume looks professional with no typos or errors.

Prepare for Interviews

You got called in for an interview! Congrats! Now this is where you need to shine bright like a diamond. Please bring your best personality, your resume, and your best business casual attire. Practice possible interview questions with a friend if you get nervous during interviews.

The most challenging questions tend to be the following: What are your weaknesses and why? Why did you leave your last position? Why should we hire you? Tell me about a time when you had a conflict at work and how did you handle it? Be prepared to answer these questions because at least one of these questions will probably come up in an interview.

Conclusion

Assessing your skill sets, preparing for your job interviews, and applying for hundreds of jobs should get you a job as soon as possible. Remember to apply for jobs within your skill sets and past work experience. Furthermore, you can create more than one resume to fit into different job types. For example, I have three resumes, one for customer service applications, one for teaching applications, and one for performing applications. Each resume serves its purpose and I submit the appropriate resume for whatever job type that I am applying for at the moment.

SIDENOTE

Lastly, there are many more job opportunities in certain cities and areas than others. If you are struggling to find work in your current area, consider applying for jobs in other areas and possibly relocating. Yes, relocating can be costly, but if you end up accepting a full-time job that pays well, you can afford to relocate and make up the financial difference once you begin working.

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-be-a-good-employee/

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte

How do you prepare for job interviews? Comment below!

Categories
Health

How to Overcome Food Addiction

Food | Definition & Nutrition | Britannica

Food addiction can be difficult to handle. You cannot completely give up food since you need it to live. However, you are addicted to overeating and food is always so tempting for you. Eating whole foods can help curb appetite and cooking at home can cut the excess calories when eating out. Plan and log your meals, cancel food delivering services, and meet with a nutritionist regularly.

Plan & Log Your Meals

Keeping a food diary can be key to long term weight loss. When you are addicted to food, you overeat without realizing it. So use a journal or notebook to log every single thing that you eat every day. The best way to log meals and excercise is to use the My Fitness Pal app or website. My Fitness Pal is the easiest way to log your meals because it can give you the most accurate calorie readings for almost anything that you eat no matter where you eat.

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/create/welcome

Cancel All Food Delivering Services

If you are addicted to food, using doordash, ubereats, or grubhub can tempt you to overeat more frequently. Deleting them will make it harder for you to access high calorie foods more frequently. When you do go out to eat, walk or drive to go get the food. This decision will make it more likely that you will eat at home more often and eat out less. But if you want to keep these services, you can limit how much you will use them.

Meet with a Nutritionist

A nutritionist can give you advice to make small changes to improve your eating habits over time. You and your nutritionist can come up with strategies based on your personal goals and your current lifestyle. Nutritionists will have meal ideas that you may have never thought of as options that work for your daily life. Lastly, you can reach out to your primary care doctor and ask if they can refer you to a nutritionist.

Conclusion

If you have a food addiction, do not be discouraged. You can do this. Make small changes and you will see results. The results just may not be as quick as you thought. It took me a year and a half to lose 30 pounds, but I have maintained the weight loss for over a year. Log your meals on My Fitness Pal, meet with a nutritionist, and cancel or limit the the food delivery subscriptions to reach your health goals.

Check out “How to Eat Healthier” https://bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-become-healthier/

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte

Categories
Mental Health

The Best Ways to Process Your Negative Feelings

Negative Thoughts & Emotions Are Not a Sign of Failure - Inspirational Quote

When we have negative feelings, we tend to ignore them to appease ourselves and those around us. If you ignore or suppress your feelings, it can have long term effects in the future. It is best to acknowledge your feelings, seek therapy or a mentor for guidance, and discover the why behind your feelings.

Acknowledge Your Feelings

Many people are uncomfortable with having any feelings besides happiness. However, avoiding negative feelings is counterproductive to personal growth. Acknowledging your feelings is as simple as admitting to yourself how you feel in the moment. It is as simple as that. Name your feeling and do not judge your feeling as good or bad.

Seek Therapy or a Mentor

Therapy is a great way to express negative thoughts and feelings without judgment. Also, the therapist will ask questions that get your wheels turning on the why behind your thoughts. Mentors are also great sounding boards as well. Find a mentor in your field or someone with more life experience to give you guidance. I have learned that the most insightful people are the ones that can share their negative experiences as well as their positive experiences.

Discover the Why

Your thoughts and feelings are like a thermometer for your mental health. Thoughts and feelings are always there for a reason. Until you find the why behind your feeling, it will be difficult to move past it. When you disover the why behind your thoughts and feelings, you can begin to understanding yourself better.

Conclusion

You will have negative feelings. I spent so much of my life trying to suppress those feelings. However, I noticed that once I started acknowledging my thoughts and feelings as they came, I became more emotional regulated. Lastly, when you can get comfortable with your own feelings, you will be able to hold space for others to express their feelings as well.

Hope this Helps,

Dominique Duarte

Refer to How to Become Self-Aware: https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/how-to-become-self-aware/

Book Referral: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Life-Balance-Spiritual-Performance-ebook/dp/B0BC4PJ3SK

How do you process your thoughts and feelings? Comment Below