Mental Health & Weight...
What's the deal?
There are so many reasons to discuss the relationship between weight and mental health. First, struggling with either weight or mental health challenges (and for many people, both) can be exhausting. Second, studies* have shown that there is a complex relationship between mental health and weight. And finally, we think it is important to destigmatize discussions about both mental health and weight so that we increase access to compassionate care and treatment for those who need it.
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Let's talk about it.
As psychologists working in the areas of health and weight, we get asked these questions all the time:
"Do my mental health struggles cause my weight problems?"
"Does my weight struggle cause my mental health problems?"
"Can I manage one without managing the other?"
The short answer is: it depends.
See, each person is unique. And each person's journey is, therefore, unique. We understand that may be frustrating to hear, because there is often an overlap between mental health and weight, and you may be struggling with one or both.
You're not alone.
Over 25% of adults in the United States has a diagnosable mental health condition*, and many more experience symptoms.
Nearly 74% of adult Americans have high weight.*
Unsurprisingly, the relationship between these two is often quite complex and many, many people are faced with navigating both weight and mental health concerns.
Does this cycle look familiar?
We get it.
We've been there, too.
Over the years, client after client came to us struggling with this cycle of poor sleep, over eating, and lots of anxiety and negative self-talk. And this cycle is just one example of how the overlap between mental health and weight show up in your real life.
Day after day. Week after week. Year after year.
And that's why we created tools and programs to teach you how to break this cycle and start feeling better.
What matters in the here and now is that we keep an open mind when talking about how your mental health and weight are connected and may be impacting you and your quality of life.
To read some of our discussions on the topics of mental health and weight, check out The Modern Psychologists' Expert Corner Blog.