Published on NEDIC! Do No Harm

I am blessed to say that my work has again been published on NEDIC's blog. This time, I discuss an article about 'doing no harm' in schools in relation to healthy eating habits (and ultimately, eating disorders). You can read the post here

Interestingly, this issue doesn't just relate to schools. We can see the impact of our actions and words about food/body image in all aspects of our lives. For example, consider the impact of a parent who constantly criticizes his or herself in the mirror - what message does this give the child or teen? Or what about when we are with our colleagues and rant on and on about how much we have ate in one setting - what if one of our co-workers has an eating disorder and you don't know? Or what if someone is struggling with a medical condition (there are many, such as cancer, diabetes, celiac's, etc) and they can't eat 'normally' - and your words hurt them?

The message to take away, then, is that our words and actions have a major influence on others - and in fact, they impact our own well-being too. As a society, we truly need to be aware of how we approach food, how we talk about it, and how we 'deal' with it. Food is sustenance. Our bodies make us strong and healthy. We ought to be cognizant and aware of the messages that we spread (intentionally or not) through our words and actions.

I hope you enjoy this post - it is certainly eye-opening when we consider our own practices and take the time to reflect on what we can do to change our habits and actions. Remember - thoughts, actions, and words all go hand-in-hand and impact one another. If you can change your thoughts, you can change your actions. If you change you words, you can change your thoughts. If you can change your actions, you can change your thoughts...and so on. Consider this - not only in terms of body image and food, but in all areas of your life.

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