Guest guest Posted April 12, 2003 Report Share Posted April 12, 2003 Hi guys, I've been amazed at the number of us who are experiencing a weight gain, some only a couple of pounds, others more. This may be completely normal for us Grads, but the spoken (and unspoken) fear of failure has led my sometimes overly analytical mind to try to explain what seems like a greater than normal phenomenon. Certainly the fact that we are coming out of a nasty winter into a rotten spring (speaking for the East coast here), the typical stresses of jobs (or lack of), family, financial, etc., are all factors. But, for many of us, it seems the additional gain has happened within the past few weeks. I never realized how outside forces beyond my control could have such a huge impact on my life and well-being until 9/11. After that day, I couldn't sleep. I've always assumed that I was strong enough to handle these things by myself, but when I read a statistic stating that something like 70% of Americans were having trouble sleeping after 9/11, I realized that there were forces at work beyond my control. It's just possible, in fact more than likely, the events of the past few weeks have had the same impact on our psyches. We all have at least one similar coping mechanism, our comfort foods. What I'm trying to say is that often our fear of failure is attached to self-blame and lack of control. For me, understanding that this is not necessarily my fault has given me a sort of freedom to gain that control back. We are so much more fortunate than most to have each other, to be able to voice our most personal, private and painful feelings and to have the kind of support that builds on each other's strengths. I'm forgiving myself for gaining weight. I have all of you, my extended family, to thank for helping me gain my strength back. We are a powerful force. Love, in NJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 12, 2003 Report Share Posted April 12, 2003 Hi guys, I've been amazed at the number of us who are experiencing a weight gain, some only a couple of pounds, others more. This may be completely normal for us Grads, but the spoken (and unspoken) fear of failure has led my sometimes overly analytical mind to try to explain what seems like a greater than normal phenomenon. Certainly the fact that we are coming out of a nasty winter into a rotten spring (speaking for the East coast here), the typical stresses of jobs (or lack of), family, financial, etc., are all factors. But, for many of us, it seems the additional gain has happened within the past few weeks. I never realized how outside forces beyond my control could have such a huge impact on my life and well-being until 9/11. After that day, I couldn't sleep. I've always assumed that I was strong enough to handle these things by myself, but when I read a statistic stating that something like 70% of Americans were having trouble sleeping after 9/11, I realized that there were forces at work beyond my control. It's just possible, in fact more than likely, the events of the past few weeks have had the same impact on our psyches. We all have at least one similar coping mechanism, our comfort foods. What I'm trying to say is that often our fear of failure is attached to self-blame and lack of control. For me, understanding that this is not necessarily my fault has given me a sort of freedom to gain that control back. We are so much more fortunate than most to have each other, to be able to voice our most personal, private and painful feelings and to have the kind of support that builds on each other's strengths. I'm forgiving myself for gaining weight. I have all of you, my extended family, to thank for helping me gain my strength back. We are a powerful force. Love, in NJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 12, 2003 Report Share Posted April 12, 2003 , very well said. Couldn't agree with you more. I was patting myself on the back for so long, b/c I thought I'd finally found " normalcy " - i.e., I thought I could eat like a " normal " person and maintain. I see, more and more though, that the most successful of us are really into the protein shakes, water, and exercise. It always seems to come back to that, but I just don't seem to be getting the message! LOL! Intelectually, I " get it " ... but emotionally, I can't seem to embrace it. Thank God for forums such as this... I think just by getting back into this for a day or two has already motivated me. ~ P. in Indy POS/random thoughts > Hi guys, > > I've been amazed at the number of us who are experiencing a weight > gain, some only a couple of pounds, others more. This may be > completely normal for us Grads, but the spoken (and unspoken) fear of > failure has led my sometimes overly analytical mind to try to explain > what seems like a greater than normal phenomenon. > > Certainly the fact that we are coming out of a nasty winter into a > rotten spring (speaking for the East coast here), the typical > stresses of jobs (or lack of), family, financial, etc., are all > factors. But, for many of us, it seems the additional gain has > happened within the past few weeks. I never realized how outside > forces beyond my control could have such a huge impact on my life and > well-being until 9/11. After that day, I couldn't sleep. I've > always assumed that I was strong enough to handle these things by > myself, but when I read a statistic stating that something like 70% > of Americans were having trouble sleeping after 9/11, I realized that > there were forces at work beyond my control. It's just possible, in > fact more than likely, the events of the past few weeks have had the > same impact on our psyches. We all have at least one similar coping > mechanism, our comfort foods. > > What I'm trying to say is that often our fear of failure is attached > to self-blame and lack of control. For me, understanding that this > is not necessarily my fault has given me a sort of freedom to gain > that control back. We are so much more fortunate than most to have > each other, to be able to voice our most personal, private and > painful feelings and to have the kind of support that builds on each > other's strengths. > > I'm forgiving myself for gaining weight. I have all of you, my > extended family, to thank for helping me gain my strength back. We > are a powerful force. > > Love, > in NJ > > > Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG > > Unsubscribe: mailto:Graduate-OSSG-unsubscribe > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 12, 2003 Report Share Posted April 12, 2003 , very well said. Couldn't agree with you more. I was patting myself on the back for so long, b/c I thought I'd finally found " normalcy " - i.e., I thought I could eat like a " normal " person and maintain. I see, more and more though, that the most successful of us are really into the protein shakes, water, and exercise. It always seems to come back to that, but I just don't seem to be getting the message! LOL! Intelectually, I " get it " ... but emotionally, I can't seem to embrace it. Thank God for forums such as this... I think just by getting back into this for a day or two has already motivated me. ~ P. in Indy POS/random thoughts > Hi guys, > > I've been amazed at the number of us who are experiencing a weight > gain, some only a couple of pounds, others more. This may be > completely normal for us Grads, but the spoken (and unspoken) fear of > failure has led my sometimes overly analytical mind to try to explain > what seems like a greater than normal phenomenon. > > Certainly the fact that we are coming out of a nasty winter into a > rotten spring (speaking for the East coast here), the typical > stresses of jobs (or lack of), family, financial, etc., are all > factors. But, for many of us, it seems the additional gain has > happened within the past few weeks. I never realized how outside > forces beyond my control could have such a huge impact on my life and > well-being until 9/11. After that day, I couldn't sleep. I've > always assumed that I was strong enough to handle these things by > myself, but when I read a statistic stating that something like 70% > of Americans were having trouble sleeping after 9/11, I realized that > there were forces at work beyond my control. It's just possible, in > fact more than likely, the events of the past few weeks have had the > same impact on our psyches. We all have at least one similar coping > mechanism, our comfort foods. > > What I'm trying to say is that often our fear of failure is attached > to self-blame and lack of control. For me, understanding that this > is not necessarily my fault has given me a sort of freedom to gain > that control back. We are so much more fortunate than most to have > each other, to be able to voice our most personal, private and > painful feelings and to have the kind of support that builds on each > other's strengths. > > I'm forgiving myself for gaining weight. I have all of you, my > extended family, to thank for helping me gain my strength back. We > are a powerful force. > > Love, > in NJ > > > Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG > > Unsubscribe: mailto:Graduate-OSSG-unsubscribe > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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