Give Your Self A Healthy Life

JUST FOR TODAY:  Create a collage with visual reminders of the essential elements you need in your life to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

As a grade school student, I learned how to make a collage using magazine photos and stickers adhered to a cardboard backing.  This art project had a theme, and as I recall, it was "My Family."  As a young adult, I learned about a process called Treasure Mapping, which involved making a collage using magazine photos and phrases of things I wanted to attract into my life.  There is also a process that involves meditation about the "Highest Vision" of your life, and then creating the expression of this as a collage on a Vision Board.  All of these creative processes yield a visual reminder of something which we value.  As a variation on these themes, I recently made a collage with photos and phrases which capture the essence of what Intuitive Self-Care means to me.  I now have a visual reminder of what I need to "Give To My Self" on a daily basis to live a healthy life.

To do this project yourself, all you need is a piece of poster board, some magazines, scissors, a glue stick, and other craft materials that you choose.  Play some music that you enjoy, close your eyes, and get a clear image of yourself at a healthy weight.  See the actions that you take on a daily basis which reinforce your eating disorder recovery or weight loss plan.  Notice what helps to enhance your ability to be an intuitive eater, and to practice overall Intuitive Self-Care.  When you are clear about this vision, open your eyes, and flip through the magazines before you.  Tear out the photos and words that have meaning to you.  After about 30 minutes, then begin to arrange your items on the poster board, trimming as you desire, and adding other words with stickers or markers.  Don't think too hard about where each item should be placed, just trust the process.  When you are finished, put your collage where you will see it regularly – in your bedroom, your kitchen, your living room – and use this as a visual reminder of your healthy intentions to "Give To Your Self"!

©2009 by "Dr. Dorie" McCubbrey, M.S.Ed., Ph.D. – Eating Disorder & Obesity Treatment Specialist – Denver, Colorado