Finding Inner Peace in a Busy World

Undergoing gastric bypass or Lap Band surgery in Michigan changes your life. The way you eat, how often you exercise and even the way you think about food is likely to change—not to mention the physical changes that your body undergoes.

Experts call transitioning to these types of drastic changes as adjusting to your “new normal.” Eating small meals, not feeling hungry, being active every day—these are all things that are going to become normal for you and might have once seemed as alien as the moon. Adjusting to your new normal takes time, and while the transition is often stressful the healthy habits will pay off in the end.

Balancing Stress amidst Chaos

With everything changing at once, life can feel pretty chaotic at times. However, at the end of the day what is left in your head is up to you. While you might not be able to control how your friends and family members perceive your weight loss success or how birthday cakes seem to appear more often than ever at the office now that you’ve undergone weight loss surgery, you still control your own peace of mind.

Developing soothing habits can help you manage stress when the going gets rough. Simple attention building practices can be done anywhere, giving you the ability to separate yourself form the world and indulge in a little “you” time before heading back into a stressful situation.

Here are a few common habits that you can try to find inner peace:

• Listen: In moments when you are starting to feel overwhelmed, disconnecting yourself from the chaos and introducing calming noises can help you to relax, focus and take a deep breath. You don’t need to listen to music to get this benefit. Everything from waves crashing, wind blowing and insects chirping can be relaxing. If you don’t have an MP3 player on hand to listen to relaxing sounds, then take a step outside and see what nature has in store for you.
• Support: Compassion goes a long way to comfort stress, and it doesn’t always need to come from another person. If your loved ones are making your weight loss plan difficult—either intentionally or inadvertently—simply stepping away from your social network and cuddling on the couch with your dog or cat can make all the difference in your stress level.
• Affirmation: Sometimes all we need to get through a rough patch are a few kind words. Unfortunately, those kind words might not be spouting out of every mouth we come across. You don’t need to get affirmation from the outside world. Write yourself a lovely note and pin it above your computer at work, or jot down a few words of encouragement and tape it on your refrigerator. By sending yourself positive vibes you can give yourself a smile when no one else is around to help.

The best ways to find inner peace are different for everyone. The best thing that you can do is try a few different things and see what gives you the most benefit. If you have your own way of managing stress and finding inner peace, share it with others by telling us in a comment below.