Emotional eating sometimes referred to as overeating or compulsive eating, is a condition that affected nearly 40 percent of Americans in 2018. Like drugs and alcohol, food can also become an addiction. Below, we explore where this compulsion comes from and what we can do about it, so keep reading.

1. Figure out what triggers your emotional eating.

The best way to put an end to emotional eating is by figuring out what triggers it. For instance, what emotions or situations make you want to reach for the comfort of food? In most cases, eating can be a way to numb painful or uncomfortable emotions—loneliness, abandonment, sadness, fear, anxiety, anger—arising from difficult situations.

Treatment for emotional eating helps you notice the triggers that cause the eating. With the help of a mental health professional, such as the team at the Therapy Group of Charlotte, North Carolina, you can find a safe place to discover what long-standing behavior patterns trigger your eating habits. Besides this, the mental health counselors at the Charlotte Therapy Center will also help you develop healthier ways to regulate your emotions so you can cope with life stressors or other challenging situations.

Through useful treatments, such as individual therapy, family therapy, CBT, and group therapy, their counselors will offer you counseling support to help you navigate any negative perceptions you may have toward food or your self-esteem, and offer compassion as you embark on your healing journey.

2. Consider going on a detox.

A slim detox tea is a tea with herbal ingredients that can assist with bloating and weight loss. The best detox teas work to improve your body’s metabolism, consequently increasing the body’s ability to burn fat and calories. Detox teas also have mild laxative effects, and because of this, they offer a great way to flush out toxins. To avoid any potential side effects, always consult your nutritionist before starting on a new supplement or slim tea.

3. Cultivate a healthy lifestyle.

If you don’t already, consider making rest a priority in your life. This is because when our bodies are well rested and cared for, we become more resilient in the face of daily struggle, and we’re better equipped to handle any difficult situation that comes our way. Now that you know this, what are some creative and fun ways that you can use to incorporate more rest into your life?

For starters, find ways to move your body. Working out or engaging in an intense form of physical activity can do wonders for your mood and even boost your energy levels. Starting an exercise program doesn’t have to be difficult. Think of the things you like to do. For instance, do you like bike riding? Pencil in a 20-minute bike ride each day and see how you feel after.

4. Learn how to eat for pleasure.

When we eat from a place of emotional hunger, the goal isn’t to savor or enjoy the different textures and flavors that abound in the meal before us. Instead, we’re eating to fill a void. Besides the obvious weight and digestive issues—nausea, abdominal discomfort, inflammation, weight gain—that result from eating too fast, your body’s natural hunger signals may also get dulled.

Mindful eating is a practice that asks us to be more grounded in the present and therefore more aware of what we’re eating. To practice, avoid any distractions while eating and really focus on the action of eating. Notice what your food smells like, and the different colors present on your plate.

By slowing down in this way and learning how to savor every bite, you’ll find you appreciate each mouthful much more. If you really pay attention, you’ll also notice that you can feel full on much less.

Reimagining your Colorado home to reflect the decorative, functional, and lifestyle needs shared by you and your family might sound like a comprehensive task. Many people think that this project will take many years of hard work and an even greater commitment of financial capital. But home improvement aimed at redesigning your living space isn’t actually that hard to incorporate for those with a plan and vision for executing it.

Creating your dream home is as easy as creating a plan of attack and executing it to perfection. Read on to uncover the perfect way to craft this approach and reimagine your living space.

Speak with a professional to get a sense of direction.

One of the top luxury interior design firms in your area can help you find direction in the early days of your remodeling project. Luxury interior design is an art, and many homeowners lean on professionals in this space in order to create a calming sensation within their home. Interior design is about more than the right furnishings, rugs, or houseplants, it’s about creating a warmth that will reverberate out into the daily tasks and lives that you and your family engage in and lead. A great interior designer is a professional with years of experience in this realm, who probably works with an interior design firm. Recreating a home to include more of the stylistic elements and functional changes that you will rely on for comfort is literally their wheelhouse.

Speaking with an interior designer can give you a jumpstart on the renovations and changes that you’ll be looking to incorporate into your home—whether as a part of a move into a new property or a remodel project that will see your current home transformed into a new space. Renovations are a common theme among U.S. households, with more than $400 billion spent across the United States each year. For homeowners (or new home buyers) looking to create significant changes to their property, an interior designer is a must.

Include a home warranty in any future expansion projects.

A home warranty is a next inclusion that provides homeowners with excellent peace of mind. Home warranty plans allow homeowners to conduct their routines without the fear of breaking an expensive piece of necessary equipment. A real estate home warranty plan offers the perfect solution to maintenance requirements, repair works on broken appliances and home systems, and a pain-free replacement structure. The backstop that a home warranty policy provides is second to none when it comes to protecting your home and cash flow against the unknown.

Home warranties can be used to cover all manner of systems within your home. These policies are easy to take out and can really transform the way you interact with your appliances and home necessities. This is the best way to quickly and easily infuse a new level of calm into your home life. Rather than worrying about costly replacements or repairs, a warranty takes away this concern altogether, allowing you to focus on other areas of your lifestyle and the home.

Target landscaping around the home to complete the package.

Landscaping is another crucial area when reimagining your home. Transforming a space into your dream home may start in the living room or kitchen, but in order to truly create this perfect space for you and your family, you’ll need to finish off the home with exterior renovations as well to perfectly customize the space for your needs.

Studies have shown that time spent in green space can reduce stress and provide a significant boost to your overall health, happiness, and wellness. This means that a patio space that allows your family to retreat from the stuffy indoor air during the summer months can provide the perfect finishing touches to your home’s comfort and utility.

Plants like an umbrella tree are great options for those considering bringing their garden indoors as well. Houseplants are a great addition to any family home and can help you make the entire space feel lush and vibrant rather than simply relying on your outdoor spaces to provide this boost.

Patios are essential for homeowners in Colorado, and indeed those living all over the United States. These inclusions are the best way to make your home feel more open and airy, and the inclusion of a patio space that extends beyond your living room can make your living space feel larger as well. Plant life is a must in any dream home because they provide an excellent decorative style while promoting great air flow for maximum comfort and health.

Creating your dream home doesn’t have to take many years or remain out of reach indefinitely. With these great ideas as a foundation, reimagining your current home, or moving to a new home in Colorado, can be a simple process that bends to your will rather than feeling like an immovable object that keeps you from reaching the goals that you’ve set. Take on these projects and you’ll be living in your dream residence in no time.

Whether you’re single, with your partner, polyamorous, or in an open relationship, there’s a lot of stress that comes with sexual activity in the LGBTQ community. Trying to overcome issues with intimacy, difficulties with erectile dysfunction, or experiencing intercourse with the same sex for the first time, there’s just so much that can weigh on the mind that can ruin a moment.

It’s important to know you aren’t alone in these feelings. Gay couples and lesbian couples, and even singles in the LGBTQ community, have a harder time dealing with the pressure of sex than straight people and heterosexual couples.

Pursuing Therapy

Gay couples counseling by counselors who are also members of the LGBTQ community is the best way to get the affirmation we may need to discuss our issues without the need to translate because of sexual orientation.

The truth is gay couples and lesbian couples face relationship challenges but can be more apprehensive about seeking help because of the inability of others to identify with their specific relationship issues. This has made mental health such a dire focal point for LGBTQ persons.

Sexual and intimacy problems, like performance anxiety and troubles with stamina, can stem from deeper troubles within a gay relationship, like lack of trust and awkward and tense communication that comes from not giving attention to issues that have affected you both in the past.

Couples therapy can also cut through the tension of discussions about your sex life, like going from a monogamous relationship to an open one. This can sometimes be leaped into headfirst by same-sex couples without acknowledging certain issues before. This can lead to disagreement and even resentment about sexual partners.

Internalized Homophobia

LGBTQ sexual relations present unique challenges, and that includes overcoming discrimination within the community. Internalized homophobia can show up in the form of self-hatred, shame, fear, and bias. While this may seem harmless in thought sometimes, rejection on the basis of gender identity and skin color, to even weight and appearance, creates a vulnerability and uncertainty about oneself. This impacts self-esteem without a way to better understand where the big problem truly is.

That stress becomes internalized and leaves us unable to perform sexually, due to a lack of compassion. Stress has the greatest impact on a sexual encounter, making lasting longer in bed impossible, and can even lead to struggling with libido and the inability to have a satisfying orgasm.

Sexual Exploration

When exploring sexuality, there is certainly trepidation about trying new positions and expanding horizons romantically to find healthy ways to guarantee satisfaction while not sacrificing comfort for better sex life.

For gay men, the first time bottoming could be scary. Taking a deep breath is important to help you relax as you anticipate penetration. When exploring sex positions, be sure to find an angle that suits your partner’s penis. As for topping, it’s important to be understanding your partner’s sexual desire. Be sure to take into account ejaculatory control without sacrificing your partner’s comfort, monitoring thrust, and endurance.

For lesbians, gentle fingering to induce sexual pleasure is a good start, and you may want to increase tempo depending on your partner’s arousal levels. When it comes to penetration by strap-ons or the use of a vibrator, it’s important to maintain a strong pelvic floor. Kegel exercises can help to build strength while increasing sexual pleasure and raising sexual confidence.

Understanding each sex session and taking into account your own comfort and your partner’s will lead to great sex and a gratifying experience for everyone involved, taking your sex relationship to the next level.