The Pyschology of Everday Life . 2000 word portfolio consisting of the Essay

The Pyschology of Everday Life . 2000 word portfolio consisting of the following Assesment 1 - Applying psychology to ever - Essay Example In today’s material and media driven society, it has become important to have a fit and shapely body if one is to enjoy a healthy self image. Hence, currently the goal of my life is to reduce weight and to achieve a desired shape with the help of exercise and healthy diet. However, it is not as easy as it seems. After referring to different studies in the field of psychology, ayurveda and spirituality, I realized that being overweight is not just a physical problem. The tendency of overeating and accumulating fats lies in the psychological and emotional make up of a person. This means that if one has to achieve a perfect weight and a shapely body, then one has to change not only the eating habits but also the psychological aspects of the personality. Hence, to become a happier person in life, what is more important than reducing weight is to gain a healthy self image, emotional clarity and peaceful relationship with ‘self’, because one can achieve happiness only w hen one is at peace with the ‘self.’ The Root Of Problem Happiness is the most important aspect of a fulfilling life. People feel worthy and content only when they are happy with themselves. Sadly, instead of attaching happiness with the internal feelings and personality, it is related to appreciation, social success and social acceptance. Hence, people become happy only when they get appreciated and accepted by people around them. However, this leads to a major problem as it makes people depend on others for their happiness. Instead of doing things that make them happy, people start following the goals and ‘living standards’ that are set by others for them. This leads to misery and self destructive behavior pattern (Chopra, 1994, p. 42). Genuine physical beauty and emotional happiness can be achieved only when a person practices self-acceptance (Chopra, 1994, p. 42). However, self-acceptance does not come easily. The idea of ‘perfect life’ and ‘perfect body’ is shaped by the television and print media and not on the basis of self knowledge. However, it is necessary to understand that every human being is unique and hence, has a unique body and mind system (Chopra, 1994, p. 18). If a person tries to copy other people’s weight pattern or food habits, then he becomes vulnerable to losing his individuality and health. Hence, the healthier way to reduce weight is to understand the root cause of the problem and try to treat it rather than trying to reduce the weight only through exercise and diet. However, to analyze and understand the root of the problem, it is necessary to look at the problem through the psychological perspective. The problem of me being overweight is not a recent one. I have observed that this is an intermittent problem since my childhood. I have never been an obese child. However, I do have a tendency to gain weight when I go through stressful situations in life. This might be because I also tend to eat when I am tense or feel emotionally closed. This shows that it is my emotional pattern that makes me to eat unhealthy food and become overweight as I am not able to control binging on fast food. Hence, my problem is emotional based and not body based (Chopra, 2004, p.103). It has been found that for people who are emotionally dissatisfied and unhappy, ‘food’ becomes a source of satisfaction and happiness (Chopra, 2004, p.103). The habit of binging and overeating comes from the feeling of emptiness in the