I thought I'd share this because it helped me so much....
I learned in a business class about Maslow's Hierarch of needs and when I heard it being described in class it hit me like a ton of bricks - I had never been able to put in to words WHY I was suddenly able to lose most of my weight after being big my entire life with seeming ease. At that time in my life - I had finally felt safe and secure for the first time in my life (for the first time had a stable home and finally quit my abusive atmosphere job I'd had for 8.5 years where I was bullied in to feeling I could be fired any minute that entire 8.5 years) and was finally connecting more with others due to not drinking and making better friends...so I could FINALLY go to the last two steps of the pyramid!
The problem is that I've learned the hard way (my own recent experience) that I believe you can move backwards on this pyramid as well...I lost my esteem, lost my belongingness & feeling safe and so I've reverted back to only self preservation instead of flourishing.
SO I've decided to ensure I feel safe and working on my esteem with accomplishments so I can get back to my self actualization stage :)
(BELOW - Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.
Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up. From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.)
