Joie De Vivre

A few years ago I was introduced to the French phrase ‘joie de vivre’. For those who like me have never heard of it, a general translation is ‘great joy in being alive’. We see it in children marveling at a bubble floating through the air, in someone dancing with their eyes closed to the song that causes their head to tingle, and in ourselves in those moments we’re wonderfully lost in something that brings us immense joy. 

I often think of this phrase as I see people begin to heal their relationship with food. When we’re stuck in the painful, endless cycle of binge/shame/restrict, our joie de vivre is squashed. There is very limited ability to delight in the joy of being alive when your mind is endlessly screaming at you about eating (either for being ‘bad’ or screaming to keep it together and eat perfectly), not having it (your body) together, and generally feeling a sense of unease. Dieting steals our joy. When people begin to learn the cycle of dieting, practice compassion and step off the cliff into the messiness that is healing, they open themselves up to experiencing joy in the day to day again.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not just an upward trajectory when you make the decision to let go of dieting. Rather, it’s a path with many twists and turns that requires patience and trust. This means the process can be harder and longer for those who have experienced trauma, those who struggle with depression or anxiety, and those in marginalized bodies. Harder, not impossible. You can learn to trust your body to give you the signals it needs to care for itself. But before we can get there, some other healing may also need to occur. 

Whether you are outside, looking in and considering the possibility of giving up the binge/shame/restrict cycle, or on the path and feeling the struggle, or even solid in your relationship with food and your body…is there a moment today you can make space for a simple joy?