Are you trying to protect yourself from trauma with extra weight?

You are safe and capable of protecting yourself and meeting your needs without the unhealthy boundary/barrier of excess weight. You have already survived trauma and are not in present danger. Many people put on weight as a protection. Whether they are attempting to protect themselves from the advances of others, are making an attempt to either be seen or blend in and be invisible, or shield themselves from so many of life’s unpredictabilities it is not a helpful or healthy coping mechanism.

It did serve a purpose at one time though, so instead of hating the weight or hating your past and present self for using food and weight as a coping mechanism, consider thanking your younger self and the weight. Thank the weight for helping you feel safe and secure and give it permission to leave now. It helped you find a way to survive the trauma, pain, suffering, and many unmet needs, but you no longer need it. You can lovingly say goodbye to that coping mechanism, and begin to build love for yourself and a new belief that you are now capable of nurturing, protecting and empowering yourself in healthy ways. Begin to work on grounding and presence skills so that you are able to recognize you are not in danger anymore. (If you are still in danger, then reach out for help if needed). When you are able to ground and see that you are safe in a present moment, you can talk to yourself about different options. You can build a plan for self-care and a plan to address any self sabotage around making healthy changes in your life. LIana Shanti’s Core wound programs are so helpful for understanding unmet needs and learning how to love yourself and heal.

There are many ways that you can make small changes that really add up. Nutrition is a big deal in determining the way that you feel emotionally and in setting the stage to heal trauma. There are also many supplements that can support you in your healing and in managing the symptoms of Trauma. B vitamins, Vitamin C, Magnesium, GABA, and Ashwagandha are just a few to look into. Drinking a fresh green juice or having a green smoothie or big salad are easy ways to ground. Going outside is very grounding for most people. Carrying extra weight will not protect you, but you are capable of protecting yourself in healthy ways, and a great place to start is by increasing self-care.