New Year's Resolutions: Good Idea/Bad Idea?

Well, here we are - we've made it through the silly season and into the New Year. We may have over-indulged slightly (understatement!) and are probably feeling unfit, unhealthy, fat and frumpy. And then, lo and behold, before we even realise what has happened, in a moment of emotion-fuelled, good intention and madness - there! It's been said - the dreaded NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION!

Soo - what has been your tipple this last year? Alcohol, smoking, drugs, energy drinks, junk food, cake, chocolate?

And which of these have you pledged to give up, as of the first of 2014? One week in - how's it going?

If it's all going good guns - then well done you! Way to go!

If you're starting to weaken, or have thrown in the towel already, then don't be too hard on yourself because chances are, you were probably not destined to succeed from the very outset. 

And here's why.

Consuming any of the above-mentioned tipples may have started out as being a bit of a treat, a spot of harmless indulgence. They can pick us up when we're feeling a bit down, or give us a bit of a boost when we're feeling flat. But before we know it, the harmless indulgence has become a habit - and we need more and more of the same in order to achieve anything like that original 'buzz'. Habits can be very difficult to break - and there is a fine line between a habit, an excess and an addiction - it's all down to quantity.  

If a tipple is proving difficult to give up then it may be because it is being used as a coping mechanism, serving to fill a void left empty by a very stressful, traumatic or unhappy time in life. Quitting will always fail unless we go some way to resolving the source of unhappiness or stress, and our body starts to regain a better balance. 

So we shouldn't beat ourselves up for not succeeding - we have to be in the right place emotionally for anything to stick. Five Element Acupuncture can be a very beneficial treatment regime to help reconcile emotional issues. For more information or to find out whether you might benefit from a course of treatments, then visit www.jobanthorpe.co.uk. All enquiries in strictest confidence.