Security Blankets
There is no shortcut to awesome. - Zoe Winters
Photo by Isabelle Taylor: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-ceramic-mug-on-round-white-and-beige-coaster-on-white-textile-beside-book-1421177/
We all have security blankets, something we use to cope with real or imagined stress. Often they are so ingrained that we don’t see them. As I chase carnivore and minimalism more of my security blankets get exposed.
A cup of coffee in my hand is absolutely a security blanket. It gives me something to do with my hands and shows how I use food to deal with emotions. If I have a stressful meeting, I walk in with a cup of coffee. Airport stress? I board a plane with Starbucks in hand. It’s both a form of emotional eating and a physical barrier toward stress.
From a minimalist perspective, “what if” items are security blankets. What if I lose my iPhone cord? What if 10 people come over and they all want to borrow an iPhone cord? Hint: If that happens I need better friends. I’m separating actual needs here. We live in an area affected by hurricanes. We own a generator. This isn’t a “what if” item, it’s a “when it happens again” item. We need it about every 3 years, but when we need a generator they are expensive and hard to find so I keep and I test it annually. This is different from a security blanket. I don’t need 10 iPhone cables, but one time, the kids went off to college and all my iPhones cords went with them, or so it seemed.
An overflowing refrigerator and pantry can be a security blanket. A friend once confessed that he grew up poor and keeping a full fridge and pantry was his was proclaiming that he wasn’t poor anymore. If food is regularly expiring in your house that’s an expensive hint that it’s become a security blanket. A trunk full of tools to fix a broken car can be a security blanket, especially for someone who isn’t handy.
I know a lot of professionals for whom their laptop is a security blanket. They take it to events just in case. They carry it around all day in a backpack knowing they will probably never take it out. They know it’s a short walk back to their hotel room if they need it, but instead they carry it around. I’m one of those professionals, but I’m working on it.
From a carnivore perspective, simply knowing what and when I’m going to eat next is a security blanket. I’ve fasted before and I didn’t die. Missing a meal would make me hungry, but not so hungry that I would plow through a dozen donuts. It’s still a security blanket. Foods tied to emotional eating may also be security blankets. The classics are ice cream or alcohol after a breakup. When things fall apart, we run back to our security blankets. On some level this becomes a measure of how far we have or have not come. A bowl of strawberries beats a pint of ice cream for weight control, but the emotional issues remain.
Security blankets aren’t all bad. They help us deal with stress, but they can also trigger negative actions at the lizard brain level. Fixing that requires recognition. For now, I’m working to recognize my security blankets and understand what triggers them. If they are severely negative, I’m working to modify them. What are your security blankets?