“I feel so fat!” This is an all too common refrain, particularly among teen girls and women, when talking about their bodies. In our culture, girls and women are judged upon their appearance and their worth is often implicitly determined by their perceived attractiveness. Girls learn very early on that being fat is bad. A study conducted in 2015 found most girls start dieting by the age of 8. In a culture that places more value on our appearance, rather than the quality of our hearts and minds, and what we are able to accomplish, it isn’t surprising that some 97 percent of women have negative body image.
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One of the top issues that my clients report having is trouble getting a good night’s sleep. Whether it is trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep, going back to sleep, or even sleeping too much, there are a whole lot of people who just don’t feel aren’t getting the restful sleep they need. A good night’s sleep is really important for optimal physical and mental health.
I spend the majority of my day doing two things: sitting and listening. Turns out most people are like me, as recent research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 1 in 4, or 25%, of Americans spend more than 8 hours a day sitting. Across the country as well as internationally, women are more likely to be physically inactive than men. Those numbers demonstrate the need for women in particular to make getting exercise a priority in their busy lives.
I remember the first time I heard the word “diet.” I was about 7 years old. We had just had lunch with my mother and my grandparents at a local sandwich shop. After the meal, my brother and I were treated to “The Big Chipper” -- a humongous chocolate chip cookie. I remember sitting in the back seat of my grandparent’s Chevy Surburban happily enjoying my cookie, as it was pretty rare for us to go out to eat in those days, let alone get dessert. I was chewing away, swinging my feet to the music when all of a sudden I became aware that the adults were talking about me. My mother turned in her seat to look at me and said: “You are going on a diet!”
True confession time. I like to shop. I like to shop a lot, especially online. My husband good-naturedly commiserates with friends and coworkers about the size and amount of boxes from Amazon Prime left out for the recycling bin on a daily basis. I know I’m not alone as the latest statistics indicate nearly 75 percent of people shop online at least once a month. While I’ve been shopping online for years now, the COVID-19 pandemic has only furthered my love of online browsing for all manner of things since everyone’s activities have been limited to slow the spread of the virus. In fact, COVID-19 has resulted in a 6 to 10 percentage points across most product categories. That is a whole lot of shopping -- nationally and internationally as the internet makes buying goods from around the world as easy as clicking a few buttons.
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AuthorDr. Kim Guarascio, PhD is a New York State Licensed Psychologist who has been providing treatment for teens, young adults and adults for nearly 20 years in Central New York. The focus of her professional career has been centered on the empowerment of women, particularly those who have experienced trauma and abuse. Archives
November 2023
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