Nov. E-news: Work Life Balance, Election Stress & More
Greetings! I bet you didn’t notice there was no October newsletter 
. I had good intentions, but between 2 hurricanes 
both impacting my family (all are OK now, gratefully!), company for 3 of 4 weekends, and a trip to Baltimore to present at the World Obesity Conference, I blinked and it was Election Day! 
I have realized that many of you – not all, but many — who signed up for this newsletter did so because you saw me present on Work Life Balance.
And lately all I seem to write about is Emotional Eating.
Harumph.
They’re both loves of mine, and they’re more intertwined than you would realize.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been stressed or overwhelmed with work and found yourself in the kitchen/break room/fridge/cabinets. That’s a work-life balance issue, and that is also emotional eating.
(That’s a metaphorical me raising both hands. Few of us are immune from emotional eating!)
They both have to do with your capacity to handle uncomfortable emotions.
Same goes for eating during election stress. Any time you eat when you are not truly hungry, it’s emotional eating. Any time you want to eat but you don’t want a piece of fruit or a hard boiled egg, it’s emotional eating.
My talk at the World Obesity Conference was on a 3-part framework to overcome emotional eating – what we learn, things we love, and how we live. In some ways, this framework could be adjusted for those who struggle with work-life balance too.
It boils down to getting in touch with what you REALLY want (not what you think you should want or what society says you should want), and then gaining an understanding of how you got to be so stuck. Then it involves learning new information, strategies, and practices to start to make small shifts. All of this is in the context of letting go of shame, self-blame, and doubts about future success.
Coaching can be magical. 
Please don’t ever hesitate to take advantage of the free consultation with me ([email protected]). I’m not in the arm twisting biz, and even if you decide coaching is not for you, you might learn something cool about yourself, and you might learn something that’s helpful to someone else!
As for election stress… you can find all that advice on the internet, but what are you doing to really IMPLEMENT it? That’s my invitation to you: DO IT.
Turn off the news. We won’t know anything tonight, and whatever we do learn will be there in the morning. This may take a few days. Go to bed.
Go outside. We are genetically wired to be outside. Get some natural light on your face and take some steps. Walking is one of the best stress relievers there is.
Sleep. (see turn off the news). Seriously, it’s restorative, healing, and we need it. If it doesn’t go the way you want, trust me, you will want as many emotional resources at your disposal as possible, and that includes being rested!
Breathe. Meditate. Do yoga. Do something to calm your body down. Breathing has been shown to be very effective, so if nothing else, pause and do some deep breaths. There was a study of hedge fund traders who revolutionized their whole culture within a month by agreeing to do 30 seconds of deep breathing every 2 hours! Seriously. It is literally a reset of your central nervous system, which has probably been in overdrive.
LAUGH. Find something funny. Play with a kid, watch a funny movie, play with an animal. Do something that makes you smile. No matter the outcome of this election, we live here and the world will keep spinning.
Set boundaries.You are not obligated to discuss your vote or to continue the effort at “civil discussions.” Voting is private, and if you need to keep it that way, that’s your right.
Empathy. You maynot agree with their choice, but everyone has done the best they can with their decision with what they believe is best. We’re so polarized. What if we could get back to viewing each other as humans, as fellow citizens? This exercise may help, called Just Like Me: https://www.mindful.org/just-like-me-compassion-practice/ (there is an audio exercise if you scroll down a bit).
Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook at Janet Frank Coaching, and if you’re a woman who would enjoy a private Facebook group on emotional eating, you can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1280463526308573
Please feel free to share this with anyone you think who might enjoy it (thanks for that), and anyone can be added to my newsletter list at janetfrankcoaching.com. There are a few freebies there for you on work-life balance and emotional eating. I can speak to your group on either of these topics, free. Please reply to this email if you’d like to learn more.
Wishing you all peace in trying times for our country. You got this. Self-care is paramount here.
To your good health,
Janet
Janet Frank, Ph.D., A-CFHC, NBC-HWC, PFAC
National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach
ADAPT Certified Functional Health Coach
Certified Professional Food Addiction Coach
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