Darkness & Light: Tia's Mental Health Story - Diet Culture

In my last post I wrote about the intersection of diet culture and my low self-esteem, and the effect it had on my life. In this post I am going to delve a bit deeper into diet culture and how it can take root in your thoughts and mess with your mind.

Jean-Luc and Nick often speak about how important it is to develop positive self-talk as part of your weight loss journey and I couldn’t agree more. As most of us have learned through years of dieting, what happens between your ears is just as important as what you put in your mouth. Unfortunately, for those of us who also struggle with mental health issues such as depression and low self-esteem, the negative self-talk in your weight loss journey can easily seep into your thoughts and judgments about who you are as a person, with lasting negative effects.

I always considered myself a shy kid. Somehow though, without a lot of encouragement, I found the confidence to participate in choir and drama activities in elementary school. In grade 7, I was selected to take part in the school’s music program and for the next 5 years I learned to play 3 different instruments including clarinet, tuba, and flute. I graduated from high sc