Losing Trust in your Body

Losing trust in your body can be a deeply unsettling experience, as it erodes the foundation of your connection with yourself. When we trust our bodies, we listen to and honour its signals—whether that’s hunger, fullness, fatigue, or the need for movement. However, for many people, especially those who struggle with disordered eating, body image issues, or emotional eating, this trust can break down over time.

Let’s discuss some of the various factors and implications of losing trust in your body:

Disconnection from Natural Hunger and Fullness Cues

One of the most common signs of losing trust in your body is the inability to recognise or respond to your natural hunger and fullness cues. When people engage in restrictive eating or dieting, they often begin ignoring their body’s signals in favour of external rules, such as calorie counting or portion sizes. Over time, this can lead to a complete disconnection from the body’s innate ability to signal when it’s hungry or full.

For example, you might find yourself eating when you're not physically hungry, either because food is restricted or because emotional triggers override your body's needs. Similarly, you may continue eating past fullness due to insatiable cravings, binge eating tendencies, or a fear of deprivation. This lack of awareness creates a cycle of eating in response to external cues rather than listening to the body’s natural rhythms, further diminishing trust.

Negative Self-Talk and Shame Around the Body

Losing trust in your body is often accompanied by negative self-talk and shame, especially in relation to body image. If you have internalised societal standards of beauty or have been influenced by diet culture, your self-worth can become tied to how your body looks, rather than how it feels or functions. This can lead to a belief that your body is “wrong” or “unacceptable,” fostering a sense of betrayal when it doesn’t meet those expectations.

For example, you might feel frustrated with your body for gaining weight, for not responding to restrictive diets, or for having physical features that don’t conform to a certain ideal. These feelings of inadequacy create a disconnect between mind and body, causing emotional distress and deepening the loss of trust. This mindset leads to further disordered eating behaviours, as the focus becomes about changing the body, rather than listening to it with kindness and compassion.

Reliance on External Controls

When trust in the body erodes, there’s often a shift toward relying on external factors for controlling overeating and body shape. This could be in the form of restrictive diets, extreme exercise regimens, or weight loss products, all of which treat the body as something to be fixed rather than nurtured. The more you depend on these external controls, the further you move away from trusting your own body’s wisdom.

External control also comes in the form of "shoulds"—what you "should" eat, how much you "should" eat, when you "should" exercise, and so on. These external rules create a false sense of security, and they fail to restore the internal trust needed for a balanced and intuitive approach to eating (and exercise). This reliance on outside measures leads to a cycle where you may feel a lack of autonomy over your body, resulting in a deeper sense of powerlessness and frustration.

Physical Symptoms and Emotional Eating

When you lose trust in your body, it often results in heightened emotional eating, where food becomes a source of comfort or a means of coping rather than a source of nourishment. This emotional eating typically occurs in response to stress, anxiety, or negative feelings about yourself. It becomes a way to temporarily quiet the internal chaos or to deal with emotions that may feel overwhelming or difficult to process.

However, using food in this way doesn’t address the root cause of the emotional distress and can lead to feelings of guilt or shame afterward. The emotional eating cycle reinforces the disconnection from the body, as it becomes a way of trying to "numb out" rather than responding to the body’s physical and emotional needs. Over time, this can create a belief that the body is unreliable or that you can’t trust yourself to make healthy decisions, further deepening the loss of trust.

The Impact on Mental Health

Losing trust in your body doesn’t only affect your relationship with food—it can also take a toll on mental health. The constant inner conflict of trying to control or change your body while feeling disconnected from it can lead to chronic stress, anxiety, and depression. This mental turmoil exacerbates feelings of inadequacy and helplessness, making it harder to cultivate a sense of peace or acceptance with your body.

The stress from constantly battling with the body can create a cycle where mental and emotional well-being are compromised, and the body’s natural processes are viewed with suspicion or disdain. When this happens, the body is no longer seen as a partner in health, but as something to be fixed or controlled, further disconnecting the person from their true self.

Healing the Relationship with Your Body

Rebuilding trust in your body requires patience, self-compassion, and a commitment to listening to its signals. The first step in this healing process is to stop judging or criticising the body and instead approach it with curiosity and acceptance. Acknowledge that the body has always been working to keep you safe and functioning, even when it feels like it’s not doing what you want or expect.

Reconnecting with hunger and fullness cues is an important part of rebuilding trust. This can start by eating mindfully—taking the time to notice physical sensations of hunger and fullness and responding to them without guilt or shame. It’s important to practice self-compassion throughout this process, understanding that rebuilding trust takes time and that small, consistent steps can lead to lasting change.

Additionally, shifting away from external controls and moving toward intuitive eating—where you focus on nourishing your body rather than restricting it—can help restore a sense of empowerment and autonomy. Trust is built through consistent, positive actions that honour the body’s needs and create a healthy relationship with food.

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Losing trust in your body is a complex and often painful experience that can deeply impact your relationship with food, your mental health, and your sense of self. However, healing is possible.
By reframing the way we view our bodies, learning to trust hunger and fullness cues, and practicing self-compassion, it is possible to rebuild a healthy and balanced relationship with ourselves and our bodies. It takes time and effort, but with consistent nurturing, we can learn to reconnect with the wisdom our bodies offer us and cultivate trust once again.