You aren’t snacking because you’re bored. You’re not bored. You just aren’t good at identifying emotions
It’s ok. How can we be good at something we’ve never been taught and haven’t practiced?
One of my biggest takeaways from Lisa Feldman Barrett’s work has been that of “granularity”; really breaking down feelings into their most essential parts. Striving to not just identify but to describe our emotions in painstaking detail.
When we spend some time practicing granularity, we realize how often we aren’t bored but rather avoiding other emotions. I’m reality, what’s the likelihood of boredom? In a world where we have endless entertainment at the tips of our fingers, does boredom even exist?
You may be feeling uninspired or unfulfilled or anxious or afraid… but bored?
So the next time you find yourself mindlessly snacking, try to get granular with your emotions. Try to identify and describe what’s going on. Try to figure out which part of you goes to snacking rather than listening to that feeling that’s trying to pop up.
And remember, if you’re bored you can always just go for a walk 😉
