Combine these two endeavors, and it can feel like youre on a fools errand.
This suggestion was, predictably, met with resistance.
Watching my roommate navigate diet-talk with her parents, I felt a creeping sense of familiarity.
With that in mind, we should stop thinking like children and start thinking like the professionals do.
Armed with this healthy perspective, heres how to go about that conversation.
What is motivational interviewing?
Its a way to avoid making someone feel like theyre being forced into change.
The goal of MI is to empower someone to want to change on their own.
Its supposed to be about having a conversation, rather than an intervention.
Their ideas about their diet may have solidified decades ago, so dont expect change to happen overnight.
Avoid arguments.This is meant to be a true conversation.
One tip is to find common ground about their health goals, rather than picking fights over specific habits.
Develop discrepancy.This is about pointing out any mismatch between your parents current behaviors and their health goals.
Resolve ambivalence.Do you and your parents disagree about what their health goals are?
Support self-efficacy.You likely arent in charge of your parents health; they are.
The whole point of MI is about guiding your parents to want to change their habits autonomously.
Encourage your parents to talk about how they might enact certain changes on a practical, internally motivated basis.
If all the strategies above seem like a lot, theres a handy acronym used by the professionals.
Help yourself be a strong motivational interviewer withOARS:
1.
2.Affirm your parents, with techniques like verbal validation or even just nodding your head.
You cant solve your parents problems for them.
