Nothing makes me feel older than when someone mentions a new TikTok trend.
As an elder millennial (with easily triggered sensory overload), I barely feel like Instagram makes sense most of the time.
And despite friends' efforts to get me on the TikTok bandwagon, after creating an account awhile back and looking at the app for about 2.3 seconds, I practically threw my phone across the room.
'Tis not for me
(Though I will say that videos friends have sent me from the app have been quite delightful, so, I can understand the appeal the content has...just from afar.)
So, I hear about TikTok trends the same way that maybe some of you do: through news stories, or other people way more hip than I am.
(I mean, I just used the word "hip" unironically, so...)
Anyway, I saw a post today in a holistic business community I'm a part of about a new TikTok trend about how people have been using various medications off-label to lose weight.
You may have heard specifically about a diabetic med shortage because of this.
And here's the thing: even if this particular trend is new, what pushes these things forward is certainly not a new thing.
We are inundated with Diet Culture, fatphobia, and toxic "wellness" culture, and there are very few places where we're safe from it all.
(Especially because, as people simply living in the world, these messages have become so easily incorporated into our daily, personal thoughts and habits, no matter how diligently we've been working to move them through and on out.)
And now, as we enter into what many consider to be the holiday season, there will likely be an even bigger uptick of these messages.
Sometimes they're subtle, sometimes they're more obvious.
But they. are. everywhere.
So, today, I wanted to just share a gentle reminder that these next few months may feel trickier as you navigate some pretty harmful narratives around food and bodies...
...and it is not your fault if this happens...
...and it is understandable if it feels frustrating to have to put even more energy toward something that already is pretty taxing year-round.
If you need any support in exploring how you experience these messages...
...how you can tenderly move toward a more compassionate and joyful place with your body and food...
...how you might be able to shift focus away from the Diet Culture narratives and toward more holistic and loving supports...
...I'm here.
Over these next few months, I'll continue to share with you, to offer support in these emails to you, and to remind you that things like capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy want us (in fact, need us) to buy into a disconnected relationship with our bodies that are full of shame and guilt and blame...
...and you are more than all of that.
Together, let's do what we can to slow down, to embrace the unique qualities that this next season encourages in us (whether or not you consider it a celebratory or holiday time), and to take whatever tender steps we can to challenge all the bullshit that keeps us disconnected from ourselves and each other.