Last Updated on August 26, 2025

Being finally able to successfully manage stress and improve my overall health changed my entire lifestyle.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the presence of chronic conditions can increase the risk for mental illnesses, while depression may increase the risk for many types of physical health conditions. That said, a person’s physical and mental conditions are important social determinants of a person’s well-being.

I mentioned about how stress eating happened and why it happened to me over the years in the previous article, read full article: Breaking the Chains of Stress Eating. In today’s article, I will shed light on how I eventually found a way to manage stress and combat stress eating. If you are looking for a reason to manage stress or emotional eating, this article may be helpful for your self-discovery journey.

How healthy you actually are?

Have you been in a situation where you thought you did everything right: you cook at home, you go for groceries weekly to purchase the freshest food and you are careful of how many calories you consume every day – what went wrong?

The issue here is that when you juggle multiple duties and responsibilities and you don’t ever rest properly, you are more likely to overwork your body and brain, which causes prolonged physical and mental distress.

In February 2021 early morning, I turned off my alarm before I was debating whether I should drive 40 minutes to work- “this dizziness was killing me” I said to myself. After emailing my bosses (that I wouldn’t be able to make it to work that day), my body collapsed out of nowhere. A few hours later, I woke up- thank the universe that I am still alive – I was quite confused about what just happened. It turned out I was unconscious for about 3 hours. I received multiple phone calls, voicemails and text messages, but I didn’t even hear anything. I called my boss immediately and mentioned that I felt awful and I probably should see a doctor.

The Treatment

When I arrived at a nearby clinic, the doctor described me as pale and debilitated. I was then asked to do some blood tests. Shortly after my doctor visit, I received a call from the clinic indicating that my Ferritin Level was shockingly low, which caused my dizziness. Doctor strongly suggested that I should start taking medication to raise my iron level as soon as possible. A follow-up appointment was pre-scheduled for me.

In order to function normally (e.g., paying the bills and living an ordinary life), I completed my 3-month task. Fortunately, my Ferritin Level had significantly increased. Once the result was released, I immediately waved goodbye to medication. I did watch out for my diet and took long/ short walks in my leisure time initially, but I relapsed into my stress eating cycle whenever triggered. It was not until a year and 3 months later did I finally find a way to relieve stress.

Lack of self-assertion

I was completely oblivious to my body shape (physical health and mental health) until April 2022. At one point, I literally thought I was skinny. It was inundating when I found out I was totally deceived by everyone around me. No one had mentioned about the change of my body shape. The reason why I chose to lose my weight for the very first time was fat-shaming. Admittedly, I had a very toxic beauty standard for a solid 8 years to maintain an unrealistic body type: 30 (bust)-24 (waist)-34 (hip).

Although I have learned to appreciate all body types, it would’ve been very helpful if someone (a colleague, who I spent approximately 8 hours working with; a manager, who I reported to frequently or a partner, who I was seeing) had shared their concerns about my health condition (the sudden weight-gain) rather than feeding me false perception.

Practicing self-compassion, raising self-awareness and acknowledgement are the reasons why I successfully lost weight and maintained a new lifestyle.

Causes of Stress

Due to personal reasons, I had to move from one city to another. I came to realize how unhealthy my lifestyle was after moving to a relaxing coastal community. Could you imagine that I forgot how to enjoy a simple and tranquil life? I was once a world traveller, a foodie and an outdoorsy person.

combat stress eating

I resumed my lockdown routine and took baby steps (read full article: Transforming Life Through Mindfulness Practices).

I still feel stressed occasionally, but I continue to follow my exercise routine. My overall health has thus improved significantly since I began exercising.

What works for me doesn’t always work for you, so if you have any questions, please leave a comment or contact us.

Reference

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, April 25). About Mental Health. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm