Healthy vs. Unhealthy ME

4/8/2022

By Andrea Schmitt

Do you love to get to know other people? Well, what about getting to know yourself a bit more? Today, I would like to look at what a healthy and an unhealthy version of you look like.

We all have healthy and unhealthy MEs. When we are healthy, we are aware of what and how we think, we take good care of our bodies, we are nice to other people and we loooooove ourselves and others. We don’t care much what others say and might think, the weather doesn’t bother us, and we have a positive outlook on life.

When we are in an unhealthy moment, we feel stressed and therefore cannot think well, make strange decisions, eat chocolate chip cookies all day and snap at others. Our outlook on life is negative, the weather bothers us and we are very aware of other people, the way they look at us, and we spend a lot of time thinking what they might be thinking.

Now, put all your thoughts into a chart. I will go first…

Healthy ME	*Unhealthy ME*
My likes: Going out, talking to others, doing yoga/sports (being active)	*My likes*: Staying at home, keeping to myself, working on my laptop (not being active)
My dislikes: Eating food that is unhealthy for me and will give me a stomachache, watching TV, sitting for a long time	*My dislikes*: Cooking, doing sports, sticking to my schedule
Things I say: “I know how to manage the heat here in Mexico.”	*Things I say*: “I hate the constant heat and humidity here in Mexico.”
Things I do: Plan my day in the morning, stick to my schedule (mostly)	*Things I do*: Scroll through IG in the morning, don’t even look at my schedule
How I feel: Happy, energetic, bubbly, curious, optimistic	*How I feel:* Down, without energy, critical, lightheaded

Now, you do it! Think about a time when you felt good and had many positive emotions. Fill in the blanks of “Healthy ME” like above. Then, remember a time when you experienced a lot of negative emotions and fill in the “Unhealthy ME” part.

Why is this exercise useful and a good idea? Well, the next time you notice any of the things on the unhealthy side, just realize that this is your unhealthy version. Nothing wrong with that! Just catch yourself and then decide intentionally what to do with that information.

By the way, is it a good idea to strive at ALWAYS being Healthy/Happy ME? No! Can you try to have more healthy and happy moments intentionally? Yes!

How can you do that?

Recognize that you are in UMM (Unhealthy Me Mode), e.g. me reaching for a cookie.
Then ask yourself, “Why am I reaching for a cookie yet again?” e.g. “Because I have so much to do and don’t even know where to start!”
Ask yourself, “What is one small thing that I can do now to get into HMM (Healthy Me Mode)? e.g. put the cookie away and then make a to-do list for today.
Feel proud of yourself and notice how you are feeling now. Different? A little bit more like Healthy ME? (Or do you still want that cookie…?)
Then do something else that Healthy ME would do! Slowly but surely, you will move more towards that part of you…

What if nothing helps and you seem not to be able to get yourself out of that unhealthy zone? Ask for help! Ask a friend, your mom/dad or a trusted adult (a coach, counselor or therapist). Explain the concept to them and try to work through this together.

Be kind to yourself and others!

Andrea

Andrea Schmitt is a life coach specializing in teenage girls and a former Stanstead parent (Jessica Lozano Schmitt 2018). Find out more about her services at https://www.globalgirlcoach.com/ or email andrea@globalgirlcoach.com.

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