Good afternoon
Hope everyone is enjoying themselves on this lovely Hump Day!
Just thought I share with you something I’ve been dealing with that ties in with my mental health and I also thought it would make a helpful blog post.
As you all know, I announced that I started a weight loss series on this blog. Long story short, this journey is and has been a rocky one. One of the reasons being… I play the comparison game WAY TOO MUCH! I have days where I can browse on social media just to browse or I found an interesting article to read. Sometimes, I’ll find an image I like and give it a heart. But most times, I fall victim to the unforgiving game of “Compare Yourself to This” or “Compare Yourself to That.” Just a few minutes ago, I was on Pinterest, scrolling endlessly, when I came across a short Tik Tok video of a young lady who filmed her face as part of her weight loss journey. She started off from 165 and got down to 105. I was happy because it did motivate me to sit down and really think about what triggers me to have moments of binge-eating or excessive snacking. But then, I started asking myself those dreaded questions.
How can I lose weight like that?
How can I stay motivated like she did to get those results?
The questions kept filling up, to the point where I was tearing up and on the verge of a MAJOR breakdown. But then I reminded myself “Gabby, stop playing the comparison game!” I literally looked out my bedroom window, and yelled it out as if someone could hear me. But I was doing it, yet again. Every time I get into some kind of rut or spurt of motivation or whatever kind of moment, and I see something or someone that is doing much better than what I’m doing right now, I play the comparison game. And the outcome, the comparing process wins. It never fails, when I let the comparing process win, it takes me a long time to figure out how to overcome from that moment.
I wanted to share with you all that this game, it can affect your mental health severely if you don’t put a stop to it. It’s hard to bounce back from it if you let it consume your everyday life. The comparison game can even cause you to feel trapped, and that’s a horrible feeling, especially for someone with a mental illness. I think that’s what happened to me, and today was the final straw. This is something that is taking control of me, and I don’t like it. It’s DEFINITELY time for a MAJOR wake-up call.
So, starting today, in everything that I do, if I have to make a special alarm or multiple sticky notes around the apartment, I’m reminding myself that I’m doing just fine on my journey, and that I’m not going to compare my Day 1 to someone’s Day 100. I’m going to keep doing the best I can in everything I do.
Ok, I’m going to take a break, collect myself, and check in with you all another time.
Until next time…
❤️