There is no doubt that trapped emotions and weight gain are connected. While this is frustrating, no doubt about it, there are tools you can use to release this pattern and those trapped emotions along with it.
This happens because of the hormone cortisol. Having sugar and fat-filled foods inhibit stress-related brain activity, so we crave for this food. The stress hormone is also responsible for collecting all the unused fatty acid and storing it in the belly region.
Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation — all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut. The brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach's juices before food gets there. This connection goes both ways.
These are some of the negative emotions which commonly makes us store body fat: Abandonment and insecurities. Need of protection due to danger and aggression. Need to be visible and recognized.
You Cry Periodically
In fact, it's how your body releases pent-up energy after a traumatic or distressing event. During your recovery period, let yourself feel your emotions. After crying, you may feel like a weight's been lifted off your shoulders.
Adults who have undergone some kind of trauma as children may struggle with the effects of residual stress from the event as well. Excess stress can lead to the release of proinflammatory cytokines, which prevent insulin from being taken up by the muscle cells and can lead to weight gain.
Research has suggested simply the perception of being overweight increases psychological distress and may lead to depression. Depression-related symptoms like sleeplessness or fatigue can make weight loss more difficult. And some commonly prescribed antidepressants can cause you to gain weight as well.
Cortisol, the stress hormone, increases fat storage, and during times of stress, cortisol levels elevate, resulting in increased body fat and weight gain. Depression can cause changes in appetite during especially low points. Individuals can experience either an increase or decrease in appetite during this time.
It's normal for difficult emotions to make you overeat or eat too little. But if you live with clinical depression, changes in eating can be long-term and lead to drastic weight gain or loss.
Depression and SAD can also cause cravings for foods that are high in fats and carbohydrates and low in nutritional value, which can also contribute to weight gain.
Emotional weight is something you can put on whether you're physically skinny, or physically overweight. It's the weight of the words, the sayings, the thoughts the actions and experiences you have in your life that you carry on you just as much as you carry physical weight.
Grief can be stored in various parts of the body, such as the heart, lungs, throat, and stomach. People may also experience physical sensations like heaviness in the chest or tightness in the throat when experiencing grief.
Two key areas of the brain are activated by shame: the prefrontal cortex and the posterior insula. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain associated with moral reasoning. This is where judgements about the self occur. The posterior insula is the part of the brain that engages visceral sensations in the body.
Because our bodies and emotions can only safely handle a limited amount of stress, trauma results whenever an experience exceeds our abilities to handle and cope with its consequences. The energy of the trauma is stored in our bodies' tissues (primarily muscles and fascia) until it can be released.
The survivor of a severe car accident might not remember the accident in detail but may feel physically averse to getting back into a car. Their heart rate goes up, their palms sweat, and they may feel sick to their stomach. These are all physical reactions to previous trauma. The body thinks it is still in danger.
The normal healing and recovery process involves the body coming down out of heightened arousal. The internal alarms can turn off, the high levels of energy subside, and the body can re-set itself to a normal state of balance and equilibrium. Typically, this should occur within approximately one month of the event.
First, notice your breath and Breathe Notice any sensations that come up naturally. As you release stress hormones, they will present through sensations like shaking, heat, sweating, yawning, goosebumps, changed breath, and gurgling in the stomach.
Initially, people might experience some weight loss during or after trauma; this is usually driven by adrenaline release and a decrease in appetite.
The correct answer is that fat is converted to carbon dioxide and water. You exhale the carbon dioxide and the water mixes into your circulation until it's lost as urine or sweat. If you lose 10 pounds of fat, precisely 8.4 pounds comes out through your lungs and the remaining 1.6 pounds turns into water.
But all of us at one time or another face bigger traumas or even periods of chronic stress, the loss of a loved one, for example. Even if you haven't experienced childhood adversity, stress in adulthood can pile up and affect your metabolic health.