Last week I started a new job. It’s a little out of my comfort zone. But I’m working with kiddos and I love kiddos. I came home Friday frazzled, with a kind of sick feeling.

Two days in, not good. First, I started eating all the food. Then, I started to feel ill. But that’s okay. That’s what I do. Help people decipher why they’re caught in that vicious cycle and how to free themselves. Stress eating can be a temporary tool to help us feel better. And sometimes we just say screw it, I’m gonna eat this and deal with the stomachache or crash later. But I do not want to be coming home every day feeling frazzled.

It takes a lot of introspection. Which I did over the weekend. I really looked at the points in my day that seemed to weigh me down, maybe trigger me, etc. I came to a few conclusions, which I may be too tired to remember here.

One: I need to take care of myself physically, so that I am better prepared mentally. If I’m drained mentally from dealing with lots of little personalities and learning curves, then it won’t help to have excess sugar depleting me of my energy.

Two: In the past two, almost three decades I’ve gotten to choose who I spend my time with. So, I need to armor up mentally, spiritually, and emotionally to protect myself from anything that will bring me down.

Three: I need to keep hydrated. Talking, talking, talking dries one’s mouth and throat in a hurry! I also need to slake my thirst for variety.

Four: Focus on the positives. There are so many!

Five: As always, don’t beat yourself up. There’s so much going on. Life is constantly throwing curveballs. Every once in a while, you get smacked in the face with one, but life goes on.