Holiday Eating Season Arrives.......

It's back. That season when everyone is tempting you to destroy your careful eating plan with cookies and stuffing and other goodies that show up in mass quantities this time of year.

Remember that your eating plan is for YOU, not your friends and relatives. You do not owe it to anyone to overeat or consume things that are bad for you. "Polite" does NOT mean consuming things you would not otherwise eat so you can tell your host how much you like it. It also does not mean overeating so your host can feel successful. It does mean being appreciative of the things you can eat comfortably and enjoying your meal.

On the flip side, there is temptation. Some part of you really wants that pumpkin pie or that stuffing, even after you are beginning to feel as stuffed as the turkey. It can be difficult to remember how bad it will feel later when you have eaten a plateful of things you are not accustomed to in quantities you rarely consume. Do treat your inner child to a taste of whatever you love. Don't feel obligated to overdo it--don't eat a whole slice of pie or a whole serving of stuffing. If you pace yourself and taste everything that really tempts you, you can enjoy your healthy holiday and feel good about having limited your indulgence.

Holistic Psychology?

The practice of clinical psychology can involve many types of therapy as well as advice-giving and counseling. When I talk about holistic psychology, I do not mean a type of therapy, but a philosophical approach that informs my approach to therapy.

Many approaches to mental health rely upon what we call reductionism--the idea that the mind and the body are separate and can be treated separately. The whole idea that mental distress is cured by a pill falls into this category. In contrast, the holistic approach says that each individual is an indivisible whole and must be treated as such. Thus, a mental health issue such as depression is not a "mental illness", but an adaptation of some sort to the individual's current reality, and a whole picture needs to be formed of the individual in order to adequately treat the problem.

In the same way, physical ills are influenced by a variety of factors we call stressors. stressors can be internal or external, mental or physical. temporary or permanent. Even a cold is influenced by the weather and the state of your immune system, not just the exposure to a virus. Some illnesses are more multi-determined that others. Irritable bowel is more a disease of response to stressors than the flu, for example.

The holistic approach requires individual treatment planning and a collaborative relationship between professional and client, rather than a traditional doctor-patient relationship. In this regard, I often refer to myself as a teacher or even a tour guide. The client cures him- or herself--I lead the way. With this approach, you have a sense of control over your fate and gain mastery over the problem that was vexing you.