Healthy Lifestyle
10/29/2023
The pursuit of a healthy lifestyle can sometimes lead to obsession. How does this work? Perhaps you have absorbed certain behaviors from childhood, up to the age of 6 or 7. If you were brought up to believe that there is only one "right" way of doing things, or you were commanded to follow strict, dictated rules, it's possible you grew into an adult with a very inflexible, even rigid psyche. You know how to act and think only in certain ways. This leads to you feeling "stuck" on some topics, such as your health and wellness routines.
There are many other ways health-related obsessions can form, too; for example, a person with low self-esteem whose achievements often go unappreciated might suddenly discover the world of their own body. Through exercise, they start to notice physical results, which enables them to finally feel like a success. Maybe they buy themselves something nice as a reward. In scenarios like this one, our brains latch onto the pleasure of making progress and dictate: Come on, continue with a healthy lifestyle — it's pleasant, successful, and liberating.
Obsessions can also emerge with feeling “in control” while in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, whether it’s in relation to one’s diet, movement, weight, appearance, or routine. This feeling can be very pleasant, but it can also cause an addiction to self-discipline.
Or, an obsession with healthy living might stem from a desire to stand out, to be different from everyone else. "You all live wrong, but I live right!" is a mindset some people use when absorbed in a lifestyle that promotes exclusivity.
The body positivity movement can seem like a powerful counteracting force in a culture obsessed with wellness; however, it can also feel artificial at times, like it was designed solely to increase society's tolerance to different groups of people. We need tolerance in general so that we remember to prioritize partnership over conflict. But body positivity might be more beneficial if treated as a personal, individualized mindset: Here I am, and I don't care what others think of me.
When there is an over-dependence on living a healthy lifestyle, it is most likely not even about health itself, but rather an addiction to maintaining certain habits at all costs. In reality, a healthy lifestyle is about the harmonization of holistic relationships, mindsets and goals.
Vira Romanova for Alpeon
There are many other ways health-related obsessions can form, too; for example, a person with low self-esteem whose achievements often go unappreciated might suddenly discover the world of their own body. Through exercise, they start to notice physical results, which enables them to finally feel like a success. Maybe they buy themselves something nice as a reward. In scenarios like this one, our brains latch onto the pleasure of making progress and dictate: Come on, continue with a healthy lifestyle — it's pleasant, successful, and liberating.
Obsessions can also emerge with feeling “in control” while in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, whether it’s in relation to one’s diet, movement, weight, appearance, or routine. This feeling can be very pleasant, but it can also cause an addiction to self-discipline.
Or, an obsession with healthy living might stem from a desire to stand out, to be different from everyone else. "You all live wrong, but I live right!" is a mindset some people use when absorbed in a lifestyle that promotes exclusivity.
The body positivity movement can seem like a powerful counteracting force in a culture obsessed with wellness; however, it can also feel artificial at times, like it was designed solely to increase society's tolerance to different groups of people. We need tolerance in general so that we remember to prioritize partnership over conflict. But body positivity might be more beneficial if treated as a personal, individualized mindset: Here I am, and I don't care what others think of me.
When there is an over-dependence on living a healthy lifestyle, it is most likely not even about health itself, but rather an addiction to maintaining certain habits at all costs. In reality, a healthy lifestyle is about the harmonization of holistic relationships, mindsets and goals.
Vira Romanova for Alpeon
