Helping Yourself
(Helping Others)
By: Lori Sperling Nevins, LCSW
At this time of year, it is so easy to live without accountability and responsiblity for oneself, forgetting that we once did not have the choices and lifestyles that we do today following our bariatric surgery.
I like to think of modesty and humility, in a season full of giving and blessings, as a perfect way to remember where you came from. Many bariatric patients speak about the honeymoon being over and the struggle to keep weight off becoming more challenging the longer one is post surgery. I often hear people remark that it was so easy then and it was all new; now they have to live with their commitment which seemed so encouraging, bringing a sense of salvation, at a time when obesity and related health problems limit our quality of life.
Perhaps we can find it in ourselves to be a role model and help others achieve goals and dreams with which we are struggling. I wonder if it may be an incentive for bariatric patients to reclaim that dramatic sense of accomplishment and pride around a life changing surgery. It can be a lifelong partner, a tool, toward attaining many realities only before dreamt about. Maybe its time to reconnect with your early pre-surgery motivations, one another and those less fortunate than you. You may reap many more spiritual and emotional rewards than you may have imagined!!
Happy Holidays!
