PWLP: Week Eight - Lesson Three

Personal Evaluation

1. Have you had feeling of depression in the last seven weeks? How did you deal with them?    A few weeks ago I felt really depressed about my weight - I felt like, maybe I was going to be fat forever - maybe I'd never lose all this weight I'd accumulated over the years and I'd always be the "fat" girl. I must admit that I got really discouraged and let my attitude affect my life negatively. I didn't put as much effort into working out as I should have, though I maintained my diet and restrictions perfectly. Lately, I've felt a little depressed over the restrictions I have placed on my diet. Mostly, I feel worn out and exhausted with the choices I have to make sometimes, but I still know it's worth it and truck through anyways.

2. Will you be able to deal with depression in positive ways even after you are no longer on the program?    I hope so. I don't want to ever fall victim to negative thinking again - especially when it can be so destructive in my life.

3. In what ways do you think you need to improve your ability to deal with times of depression in your life?    I think that I need to find more constructive ways to deal with depression in my life, sometimes it's all too easy to sit around and pity yourself instead of getting active and dealing with things. I mean, there is a time to sit back and sulk, but eventually you have to get off your butt and do something about the way you feel. For me, personally, I tend to let myself sit until the very last minute instead of dealing with things head on and confronting my problems. This is something I really need to work on. Additionally, I need to work on having better coping mechanisms, so that food isn't the first thing I think of when I get depressed. Even if I don't act on these feelings, food is still the first thing I think of to comfort me in anxious times.

4. Do you believe you are a lovable, worthwhile and successful person? Why or why not?    I believe this partially - so far, I've really proved this statement to be true in my life. But sometimes I feel really discouraged with my progress or don't see the changes I want immediately, and this makes me feel unsuccessful and like the changes I've made aren't as worthwhile as I've made them out to be. I really need to believe this statement though if I'm going to continue to succeed on this program.