Emotional snowballing

Ladies – does this sound familiar?

* A project/situation/person at work is frustrating you.
* It drags on. You begin to doubt your abilities.
* You start eating a little sugar in the afternoon. Maybe add (more) coffee.
* You live alone so you don’t get a chance to vent in the evenings.
* You’re suffering from man confusion.
* As you mull over the absurdity of it all, your calorie count gets upped in the evenings too (how many calories in a gin/tonic?).
* You’re so busy going in circles, you miss a workout or two. Or six.
* You survive weekend. However, frustration/man-fusion resumes on Monday.
* Repeat everything.
* You start feeling fat.
* You start dressing down a little, so you can lie in bed and mull more.
* The girls on So You Think You Can Dance Canada have exquisite thighs. Sigh.
* You start feeling *really* fat.
* Everyone else seems to be dating the nicest, most attentive, most sexually ravenous man ever.
* Your friend gets a promotion. Much rolling in money ensues.
* You start feeling like an ogre. And a teensy bit of a failure.
* A little more sugar. A little less exercise.
* D-e-s-p-a-i-r

Emotional snowballing has been the downfall of many a fine, strong woman. Over the years – on more than one occasion - I’ve suddenly snapped to attention, dazed to find myself rolled up in a snowball of my own making. The factors, having accumulated so gradually and without pomp, overwhelmed me before I even recognized what was happening.

I also used to think that – at some point in my life – I would achieve such a comfortable state of being – that I would stop getting caught in the emotional snowball.

The emotional snowball happened to the weak, no?

No.

The best thing that yoga has taught me is that the snowballing will probably never stop, so you had better learn how to roll and come out with a flourish.

I’m halfway through an emotional snowball right now, but I’m trying not to let it become too much of a distraction.

The trick is, now I see it coming.

So I’m eating with a little more mindfulness.

I returned to my yoga practice after a too-long hiatus.

I’m taking time for myself when I need it.

I’m thinking more before I speak.

Any other suggestions? What do you do to escape your emotional snowball?

Fotos: Waupoos Estates Winery, Prince Edward County, Ontario