Follow Kaitlyn’s Gluten Free Kitchen on Social Media
Whether you’ve been gluten free for a month, a year, or a decade : it happens to everyone sometimes. Odds are that you have been glutened, or you will be glutened. And if its happened before, it’ll happen again.
One of our first responses to a gluten exposure is to beat ourselves up for it. Ironically, while our body is already beating itself up. Even though our body is literally doing the job for us, in the depths of our misery and despair, we engage in negative thoughts that make it even worse.
Our thoughts automatically go to : “I knew I should have asked more questions about food prep” “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that dinner” “I should have read the ingredients more carefully” “I should have stayed with my usual order”
Using 20/20 hindsight we ‘should’ ourselves into absolute misery while we’re already dealing with heavy mental and physical symptoms.
We’re really not that kind to ourselves.
This ‘shoulding’ and shame can very quickly spiral into a darker place, where we start to think about the sadness and permanence of our dietary situation. Thoughts such as ‘this isn’t fair’ ‘I want to be able to enjoy my time out without being worried about getting sick’ ‘why does it have to be like this’ ‘why can’t I just be normal’
Once again, all normal thoughts.
There is a physical reason why we are so negative in these situations. Happy hormones are produced in the gut. When your guts not happy, you’re not going to be happy because you’re not processing the physical components that help to make you happy. Combine this with brain fog, a common symptom of being glutened, and feeling physically ill and you have a recipe for disaster.
So if these thoughts are normal, natural, and also negative, what can we do to get on top of it?
Be aware. Choose compassion.
It sounds simple. And its not.
Its learning to really take a hard look at ourselves and love ourselves, to offer ourselves the same level of care that we would offer someone else in the same situation.
What do we do?
When you notice yourself starting a thought with ‘I should…’ after being glutened : PAUSE. Recognize the thought that your brain is offering. Allow “I should” to be a red flag for you and a trigger to pause to sit with your thoughts.
You’re human. You make errors.
Now (for the hard part) choose compassion and forgiveness. You’re never going to make perfect choices 100% of the time. You’ll make mistakes. And thats ok. That’s the human experience. You’re not seeking the robot experience. Unfortunately, the human experience comes with the good and the bad.
The bad allows you to recognize the good. They’re both essential. Yin to the yang and all that jazz.
Instead of shoulding yourself, choose a more compassionate thought… for example ‘I’ve learned something from this experience, its a crappy lesson but I will come away understanding a little more” “This happened and this will pass” “I’m learning to care for my body and my diet, and this takes time” “I’m not perfect and thats ok”
Choose a thought that is supportive and believable. You can’t always choose what happens. You can’t change the past. You can choose how you respond to the present.
Your thoughts and feelings are normal. Even the negative ones. You’ve got this.
Take care of yourself! You deserve all the love that you give and then some.
Leave a Reply