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Ella was in a bad mood and feeling stressed when she arrived at her friend’s dinner party one Friday night. When Ella saw the food on the table, she realized that there was not one healthy choice presented. Everything was white, starchy and greasy, with the absence of the life-giving greens and vibrant, nutrient-rich colors of nature’s bounty. She saw the highly starchy, refined carbs of pasta and bread, deep fried food and sugary desserts, and all this without any salad, vegetables or fruit. The dinner contained the very foods that she had been staying away from. What came flooding back to her as she stared at the food was the realization that she hadn’t put a plan in place to care for her needs. Ella was not used to thinking ahead, perhaps asking for something special, or treating herself and her health as important. But Ella was trying to change. She realized then that she could have made the choice to bring a healthy dish with her. What would she do at this crossroad? Be creative and constructive or unconscious and self-destructive? What would you do? Our answer is key. It reflects whether we have unlocked the mystery within, and achieved the growth needed to live a more fulfilling life.
We have an incredible potential for creating feelings of vibrant well-being. Part of this is connecting what we think with how we live and the actual decisions we make on a daily basis. Living with self-care is essential, for every decision we make, every action we take, affects our health. However, when we’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, like Ella, it is challenging to keep our behavior in line with our desired goals.
It is most evident how profoundly improved my patients feel when integrating a healthy eating program into their lives. To do this consistently involves making desired changes in their thinking that leads to positive action.
Our minds have great power over everything we do. Our beliefs and thoughts set the stage for how we see and interact with life and how we treat ourselves and our relationships. Our thoughts also have a powerful effect on the feeling state in which we live. How we think and feel influences the production of powerful chemicals that impact our brains and entire bodies. When our thinking is positive and creative, this contributes to our body chemistry coming into balance. We become more resilient to stress. In contrast, when we are in a negative state of mind, prone to poor self-care and deficient nutrition, we can experience brain fog, depression, anxiety, low energy, unbalanced blood sugar, imbalanced neurotransmitters, high stress hormones and adrenal fatigue. We may even lose touch with the realization that change is possible. My message of hope is that change is very possible—with improved mood, health and biochemistry—so much so that even our taste buds can change so that healthy food choices are what appeal to us the most.
There is an intriguing opportunity in exploring the underlying issues that affect that way we think and our ability to embrace empowered nutrition and the optimal health and quality of life we passionately desire.
In an attempt to be healthier, we often reach for the next elusive diet that we will “start tomorrow,” which ultimately leaves us feeling deprived, frustrated and defeated. This pattern is often repeated, resulting in disappointment that this was another non-solution. Yet our nutritional behavior is not meant to be an ongoing struggle, an inner fight with ourselves over cravings and addictions. This is not wellness. Creating wellness is learning how to implement a lifestyle consistent with what we truly need from cellular healing and finding peace with our thinking and actions.
How can we start to make real change? The work begins with looking inside ourselves, truly understanding where our real struggles lie, and facing our conflicts, confusion, self-defeating thoughts and behaviors. These are the factors that often create a biochemical and emotional detour from the vibrant health and inner peace and freedom we long for. This type of growth involves our whole being.
By integrating psychological growth and healthy nutrition, we can become more aligned with ourselves, more focused on goals, and more inspired to create a healthier, more fulfilling life. Developing a willingness to change can lead to greater self-expression, creativity, confidence, self-honor and self-esteem. As we change and learn to make empowered life and health choices, we experience a glow of satisfaction and pride. By overcoming our challenges and struggles, we can become stronger and grow as human beings with greater self-love and more compassion for ourselves and others.
Dr. Friedman’s lecture will focus on the combined power of psychology, nutrition and spiritual inspiration to create empowered life changes and lasting wellness.
Dr. Marla Friedman, a Ph.D. in Psychology, is NYS licensed in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with thirty years in practice. She is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, an Associate of the Viktor Frankl Institute for Meaning Centered Therapy, and an Advanced Fellow and Board Certified in Anti-Aging and Functional Medicine. Dr. Friedman is certified from the Institute for Functional Medicine in Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice. In her private practice, Dr. Friedman offers individual, couple and group psychotherapy, integrating the benefits of in-depth emotional and nutritional healing. To learn more, visit www.drmarlafriedman.com, or call (516) 674-3388.
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