Wilson Counseling: The Armchair Chronicles

I came across this video from the makers of Special K about women using "fat talk." According to the video, 93% of women use derogatory terms, or "fat talk" to describe their bodies. For example, they might say something such as "I look like a fat cow in this outfit."  Words are powerful. When you use "fat talk," it impacts how you feel about yourself. One of women in the video equated it with bullying. Can you imagine what a lifetime of this talk has done to your self-esteem? This week, pay attention to the thoughts and words you use when thinking about your physical body. Write down any negative self-talk. Then next to the negative words, write down a rebuttal or a positive comment about your body. Sometimes it helps if you think about what you would say to a friend who was criticizing themselves. Battle your inner critic. Be vigilant about not allowing yourself to use bullying, degrading terms about your body.  By the way, my inclusio...

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32300000/Hump-Back-Whale-humpback-whales-32310756-1280-1024.jpg I have a very creative, artistic seven year old daughter. She often sees her world through a totally unique lens. Several years ago, I walked into her bedroom and found that she had cut some holes in her blue bed sheets. Puzzled about why she would do this, I asked her why she cut her sheets. She replied, "The horses needed water." Although I am not really sure what she meant exactly, I could imagine in her creative mind that the blue bed sheets were a cool stream and she wanted her toy horses to have access to a drink. I love seeing the world through her minds eye, and I try to tell her how much I appreciate her creative side, just as I try to appreciate each of my children's unique qualities. But, somewhere along the way, she started to feel it was not good to be different. One day, seemingly out of the blue, she told me, "Mommy, I am an odd ball. I don...