Anti-Nagging
Anyone who has ever struggled with an addiction (eating, smoking, drinking, drugs) knows nagging does no good. Unfortunately, those concerned by the addicted person’s behavior still persist. They see that it does no good (”the person must want to change,” we are told) but for most of us having the patience to sit by and do nothing feels impossible.
Recently, I saw the nagging issue addressed in The New York Times: should doctors nag their patients about losing weight? The 723 comments (and counting) that followed the brief mention of a doctor who opts to not lecture his patients illustrates just how hot a topic obesity is in our country. I side with the good doctor. Most overweight people are not oblivious to the fact that they are overweight. Indeed, if we are to believe Wendy Shanker, author of The Fat Girl’s Guide to Life, most overweight people, especially women, have tried everything imaginable to lose the damning weight that society endlessly faults them for. Just like anything else, excess weight is not lost because your doctor chides you for it. And, yes, the solution does start with a desire for change, but the person must also be willing to dig into the emotional, often deep-set reasons for the addiction. This combination is an essential one because without it no real progress can occur. Weight can be lost (temporarily), drinking might stop (for a while) but if there is no understanding of the where and the why behind the problem, there will be no permanency.
The second part of the above essential combination (going deep and looking at where/why) will be addressed in my Fall teleseries. More details will be in the next issue of my bi-weekly ezine In The Pink (click here to subscribe) but if you simply can’t wait, click here and let me know how I can ease your mind.
Nagging is often part of the problem, but not a solution to it.