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How Your God-Given Internal Cues Can Stop Emotional Eating

How Your God-Given Internal Cues Can Stop Emotional Eating

Lori Askew, Kate Motaung2025-04-25T05:55:42+00:00March 7th, 2025|Eating Disorders, Featured, Individual Counseling, Weight Loss, Women’s Issues|

Chronic stress, a silent predator, is a key instigator of a range of physical and mental ailments. Unfortunately, it also slyly fuels emotional eating. What happens is that we often turn to food beyond our physical hunger because we’re trying to fill a deep-seated void. God actually created that void in us to fill with Himself. Therefore, we know that food is not the answer. God has gifted us with a sophisticated system that signals when we need to nourish ourselves and when we should refrain from eating. This system helps us to effectively curb emotional eating by recognizing and responding to internal cues. Defining True Hunger The internal cues we possess to indicate hunger are natural and intuitive. Your body releases two hormones, ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin stimulates the appetite, making your stomach feel empty and often causing it to growl. The growl or empty sensation may subside but return in 10-30 minutes as your body requires fuel. Richardson Christian Counseling helps individuals explore and manage emotional eating patterns, offering guidance to develop healthier relationships with food and body awareness. The other hormone, leptin, controls satiety. You experience the sensation of being full when fat cells release leptin, which leads you to stop eating. This hormone is released when it receives the signal from the stomach approaching fullness. Unfortunately, many individuals continue to eat even when they are already full or not hungry, making it difficult to gauge their satiety or control their eating. This can lead to physical discomfort, obesity, digestive problems, and even illness if it becomes a consistent habit. Understanding these potential health risks can be a powerful motivator to change our eating habits. Why We Eat Our Emotions If the empty feeling or stomach growl indicates hunger, why do we eat when not physically [...]

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Take This Job! Dealing with Job Burnout

Take This Job! Dealing with Job Burnout

Sarah Gibson, Kate Motaung2025-04-25T06:44:19+00:00February 28th, 2025|Featured, Individual Counseling, Professional Development|

Although job burnout is not an official disorder recognized by the medical community, it is a condition that causes exhaustion and mood changes. According to a survey from Indeed, more than half of the participants (52%) experienced job burnout in 2021. How do you deal with job burnout without shutting down physically and emotionally? Why You Might Have Job Burnout If you work in a demanding career, you may be exhausted in every way possible: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Demand and supply can create job burnout as excellent workers try to manage a shortage of employees and meet a higher demand for their services. Even if you love your job and have always considered it a dream job, you may still reach serious job burnout. There are other causes of job burnout: Working long hours or overtime. Feeling unappreciated, unacknowledged, or used. Working a demanding job with no evident reward. Not achieving family and work balance. Stress from other areas of your life. Symptoms from a mental health condition. Feeling as if your life is out of your control. Do any of these sound familiar? You might be dealing with job burnout. How Job Burnout Affects Mental Health Job burnout takes a toll on your mental health. You can feel emotionally exhausted, depressed, angry, and irritable. You might struggle with insomnia and fatigue. Some people choose damaging coping mechanisms, like alcohol and substance use. Others turn to food for comfort and binge eat. as they spend every evening escaping into the television. Richardson Christian Counseling provides a safe space to process burnout and develop healthier coping strategies rooted in faith, balance, and emotional well-being. You may not realize what is behind your recent mood swings or negative behaviors. Could it be that your job is causing more stress than [...]

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Knowing the Difference Between a Big Appetite and Binge Eating in Teens

Knowing the Difference Between a Big Appetite and Binge Eating in Teens

Kate Motaung2025-02-26T05:46:53+00:00February 26th, 2025|Christian Counseling For Teens, Eating Disorders, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Jackson has been feeling lost since he recently realized his teenage son Jack Junior’s famous appetite may have evolved into a binge eating disorder. As a single dad, born and raised on a ranch in Texas, surrounded mostly by cowboys who don’t talk much about emotion, Jackson is not quite sure how to even broach this topic with his son. All sorts of questions keep floating around in his head. “How did I not notice that my kid might have an eating disorder sooner?”. “How can I know for sure if my son is binge eating?”. “How and why did this develop into a disorder?”. “How much of a problem is this condition?”. With this article, we hope to answer most of Jackson’s questions and help any other parent who might find themselves in the same boat with their child. How did I not notice that my child might have an eating disorder sooner? The boy, Jack Jr., has always had a huge appetite and loves his steaks, drumsticks, potatoes, and gravy. You see, his mother, who recently passed away of cancer, was the ranch’s resident cook, so he has grown up surrounded by her rich cooking, literally eating it all up. What Jackson doesn’t know is that in recent months, Junior has endured relentless teasing at school for the way he looks with hurtful body-shaming nicknames that are thrown at him every day. Slowly he’s been finding ways to cope with the pain by seeking solace in food. It’s become his routine that when life throws too much at him, he just retreats to his room, locks the door, and starts binge eating whatever snacks he could find in the pantry or leftovers stashed in the fridge. Jack Junior can eat several bags of chips, cookies, a full chicken, [...]

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Teens, Social Media, and Body Image

Teens, Social Media, and Body Image

Sarah Gibson, Kate Motaung2025-02-04T05:04:46+00:00February 3rd, 2025|Christian Counseling For Teens, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Last night, I opened Instagram and began scrolling. I had recently searched for new recipes and workouts, so my feed was filled with these types of videos. However, amid the dog and baking recipe videos, I started seeing videos about calorie counts, daily gym routines to make my waist smaller, and ways to lose weight. I hadn’t searched for that content, but it was now automatically showing up in my feed. I realized I probably wasn’t the only one who was seeing these types of videos centered on body image. I couldn’t help but wonder how exposure to this content might impact a person’s self-esteem and body image, especially for a teenager. What is body image? Body image refers to the beliefs and perceptions we have about our own bodies – how we view our appearance, like our size, shape, height, and weight. A positive body image involves feeling confident in your appearance and accepting the natural changes your body goes through as you age (e.g., menopause, fluctuating weight). Negative body image is the belief that there is something wrong with your appearance. The National Eating Disorders Association defines negative body image as “a distorted perception of one’s shape and physical appearance. Negative body image (or body dissatisfaction) involves feelings of shame, anxiety, and self-consciousness.” Those who struggle with negative body image often find themselves frequently doing body checking (monitoring their physical appearance via scales, mirrors, or other methods), constantly comparing their appearance to others, or going to extreme lengths to change their appearance. Those who experience high levels of body dissatisfaction are more likely to suffer from feelings of depression, isolation, low self-esteem, and developing eating disorders. Negative Body Image and Social Media For individuals who struggle with their body image, social media can make these negative beliefs [...]

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Teenage Depression is Real: 3 Subtle Signs to Watch for in Your Teen

Teenage Depression is Real: 3 Subtle Signs to Watch for in Your Teen

Sarah Gibson, Kate Motaung2025-01-29T10:00:45+00:00January 29th, 2025|Christian Counseling For Teens, Depression, Featured, Individual Counseling|

As the number of instances of teenage- depression continues to grow in the United States, the importance of addressing this issue has become increasingly clear. In a recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), researchers found that 17% of teens (ages 12-17) experienced symptoms of depression. The Importance of Recognizing Teenage Depression Supporting teens on their mental health journey has emerged as a key focus for parents, educators, and society, prompting us to explore the most effective ways to help and empower the next generation. For parents, a crucial first step is recognizing the key signs of teenage depression. Depression is more than just feeling sad. It is a serious mental health condition that affects your teen’s mood, behavior, and ability to function at school, at home, or with their friends. It can be difficult to tell if your teen is depressed because many depression symptoms are also common adolescent behaviors, like appetite changes or lack of energy. However, with depression, these symptoms are usually more severe, and they last for a longer period (weeks or months at a time). How to Spot Teenage Depression For a teen struggling with depression, they might feel sad for weeks or even months at a time. Their mood does not seem to improve, or they do not “brighten up” when good things happen. To them, it might be hard for them to remember a time when they weren’t sad. They might have trouble concentrating in class, may not be interested in their hobbies, have difficulty sleeping, or sleep too much. Parents need to notice if their teen is acting differently. Did your teen previously hang out with their friends, but now they spend all their free time in their room alone? Or does your teen who was [...]

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Setting Professional Boundaries at Work

Setting Professional Boundaries at Work

Cyndi Kay Green2025-01-17T09:09:08+00:00January 17th, 2025|Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Professional Development|

Setting healthy boundaries at work can be challenging due to technology and ever-changing workplaces. Setting a limit that defines a work relationship is more complex than doing the same thing in personal relationships. People are quick to take offense when they feel as though they are being disrespected. Professional boundaries are important in creating a healthy and balanced work setting. …and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. – 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, NIV Professional boundaries can be for physical as well as emotional reasons. People do not want to be asked to do more than they feel capable of, nor do they want to be left out of office decisions. Mental boundaries can protect values and ethics. They protect us in our responsibilities as well as protecting our values. Identifying and setting boundaries empowers us to share our abilities to do a good job with the assigned tasks. This will also help us learn to manage our time and complete projects on time. When professional boundaries are clear the chance of them being overstepped is reduced. Expecting the workplace to be void of engagement can lead to work burnout. Proper boundaries can encourage minimal engagement while expecting productivity. How to Set Professional Boundaries at Work Many strategies can help set professional boundaries at work. The main goal of boundaries is to keep the work relationships healthy and productive. Chose information wisely Knowing your coworkers can be beneficial. However, there is a limit on how much personal information needs to be shared outside of the home. Some things like hobbies and [...]

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4 Causes of an Insecure Attachment Style

4 Causes of an Insecure Attachment Style

Kate Motaung2024-11-05T06:57:02+00:00November 5th, 2024|Abandonment and Neglect, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

If you’ve been in a relationship, you probably know the feeling. Perhaps your loved one isn’t texting or calling as often, and so you assume they aren’t interested in you anymore. To preempt the inevitable, you decide to break up with them before they break up with you. But to your surprise, you find that you made massive assumptions and blew the relationship up without cause. You may be struggling with an insecure attachment style. The way we respond to others in relationships is shaped considerably by past experiences. You carry fears and expectations into new situations based on what you’ve been through before. Sometimes, these fears and expectations, which comprise your attachment style, can stem from a traumatic experience, and lead you astray and into unhealthy behaviors that undermine a healthy relationship. Attachment Styles and Their Effects Your attachment style is about how you behave and relate to others in your relationships. Some attachment styles are secure, while others are insecure. A secure attachment refers to healthy behaviors you exhibit in your relationships, flowing from the quality of the bonding experiences you had with your parents or caregivers as a child. When a child feels understood and safe, and their needs are met, they develop a secure and successful attachment. Their needs were rightly interpreted and met, which helps the child develop an expectation that it can express needs, and those needs will be met. A secure attachment in childhood will often translate into an adult who trusts others, is self-confident, can express their needs, and manages conflict well. The importance of these formative relationships becomes clear when evaluating instances where one’s needs are met inconsistently or not at all, or where they experience confusing and frightening things. If needs aren’t met or are misinterpreted, it leads to [...]

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Am I Experiencing Symptoms of Anxiety?

Am I Experiencing Symptoms of Anxiety?

Sarah Gibson, Kate Motaung2024-12-21T09:56:23+00:00October 28th, 2024|Anxiety, Featured, Individual Counseling, Women’s Issues|

Anxiety vs. worry Have you ever thought, “Am I anxious or am I just worried?” For example, a high school student might be worried about an upcoming calculus test, but once the test is done and graded, they are not worried about that test anymore. Like this teenager, we have all been worried about something, but this worry usually goes away once the situation is resolved. On the other hand, what if that same teenager finds themselves constantly worrying about their grades to the point that they have trouble sleeping, become noticeably more fidgety, and start to have panic attacks? These are symptoms of anxiety and are distinct from worry. Those struggling with anxiety usually experience both emotional and physical symptoms, which if left untreated can affect your personal, professional, and spiritual life. Anxiety is widespread Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the United States, affecting over forty million adults, or 19.1% of the population. As the OCD & Anxiety Center explains, “For many, it has become increasingly challenging to feel “enough” in a culture that puts a lot of value on having it “all together.” The pressure and stress to achieve near-impossible goals in work and personal life can, in time, result in increased anxiety and even depression.” For those struggling with anxiety, the constant worries and stress can be overwhelming, because it feels like the worries will never stop. With anxiety, these worries can last for a longer period and there might not be a specific reason behind the anxiety. Ruminating thoughts These constant worries are a key feature of anxiety and are known as ruminating thoughts. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), rumination involves, “repetitive thinking or dwelling on negative feelings and distress and their causes and consequences.” Below are a few [...]

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How to Maintain and Improve Your Emotional Well-being

How to Maintain and Improve Your Emotional Well-being

Jennifer Kooshian2024-10-18T14:44:37+00:00October 17th, 2024|Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

We are embodied thinking and feeling beings, and that’s just how we were made. Our thoughts and our feelings interact in complex and sometimes obscure ways that can leave us bewildered about ourselves. Sometimes our minds and reason lead the way, but at other times we are all heart, and we do things we can’t make sense of. At times, our hearts and minds are in alignment, but at other times they are not, reducing our sense of emotional well-being. Your well-being isn’t just about whether your body is okay, nor is it only about your mind or your emotions. Wellbeing is about all those elements and aspects of ourselves receiving adequate care and attention. Neglecting one affects the others. For instance, how you feel affects a wide range of things, including your ability to handle day-to-day tasks, manage your relationships, react to the circumstances you encounter, and make decisions. It is important to take care of every aspect of your well-being, including your emotional well-being. What is emotional wellness? According to the National Institutes of Health, “emotional wellness is the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times.” When unpleasant or unwelcome things come your way, you can become overwhelmed. A person with good emotional well-being can roll with the punches and take those difficult situations in stride. Some things can undermine a person’s emotional health, and these include experiencing chronic stress from relationships or work, the lack of a support network, adverse experiences like trauma, negative self-talk that generates self-doubt, setting unrealistic expectations for yourself or others, being trapped in the comparison game, unhealthy or toxic relationships, and feeling unfulfilled and without a clear purpose. Every person has their capacity for what they can handle, and when that capacity is exceeded, it [...]

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Christian Counseling as a Safe Space For Your Healing

Christian Counseling as a Safe Space For Your Healing

Jennifer Kooshian2024-12-21T09:59:42+00:00September 11th, 2024|Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

It can be hard to find someone who will truly listen to you. Sometimes you can have a conversation with someone and then walk away afterwards wondering if they even heard what you were saying. People mean well, but at times they can rush to give you advice when what you need is for someone to hear you out and help you process what you’re going through. This is where Christian counseling can help. In some instances, it can feel awkward to talk to someone you know about the things going on in your life. Perhaps you’re afraid they will see you in a different light, or maybe because it’s about them you don’t want to jeopardize the relationship. There are several reasons you might struggle to confide in a friend or loved one. This, however, doesn’t mean you’re out of options if you’re looking for someone to talk to about what you’re going through. Christian counseling in brief Christian counseling is a space where a person can discuss their concerns with a trained and licensed counselor. The counseling can take place on a one-to-one basis, or in a group setting with others seeking to address the same concerns. The kinds of concerns that can be addressed through counseling will vary widely, from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression to other concerns such as relationship difficulties or substance abuse. Your counselor will use a variety of therapeutic techniques that are suitable to the situation and your concerns. You don’t have to be a Christian to benefit from Christian counseling, but if you do opt for that approach, note that wisdom and insight grounded in the Christian faith’s understanding of the human person and their flourishing will be woven throughout. Your counselor will use these insights in addition [...]

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