Video and Lesson

The next time you feel stressed and want to find that “fix”, try pausing and taking several deep breaths. Slow down and think before you react.

Deep breathing will trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, which sends signals to your brain to tell the anxious feelings you are experiencing that you are safe. It slows down your heart rate and reduces your blood pressure. Deep breathing gets more oxygen to the brain so that we can think clearly and make better choices.

Viktor Frankl, a concentration camp survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, said, “between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." When we take a breath between the situation that caused a negative emotion and our response, we have time to think and consider our options. We can determine what thought or behavior we want to take. It is a time to slow down and receive God’s love to help us. That moment to pause and breathe is a time to make space for God.

As we grow in our faith and learn to slow down and breathe, we become better at expanding those “spaces” between the emotions that we are feeling and our urge to eat. During these “spaces,” my prayer is that you will begin to call out to God for help. As you breathe, you say, “God help me. You are my comforter, help me to believe I need you, not food right now.” Over time, we find greater peace and strength because we are experiencing God’s presence.

Watch this video on ways to “pause” and think before you react.

To do:

1. Journal your food intake and emotional state.

2. Practice breathing or pausing before you decide to eat something.