Let's Talk About...Healing Body Shame

Well, it's fall here in New England, which means cooler weather, absolutely beautiful trees, and apple cider!  (And for those of you who love it, pumpkin spice!)  It also means lots and lots of raking is in my future!   And it also means sweater weather!!!!  Yay!!!  So many of my parts love sweater weather.  Throwing on a big cable-knit sweater just feels so cozy.  And I just love fall colors (especially forest green--I can't tell you how many forest green sweaters I have). But do you know another reason why some of my parts love sweater weather?  Because I can hide under sweaters.  Especially ponchos--you can't really tell what my body looks like under a poncho.  And some of my parts are really happy about that.  In my last podcast episode, Amy Pershing shared her incredible wisdom about Binge Eating Disorder.  She also touched on the topic of body shame.  And since healing body shame is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult aspects of this type of work, I thought we should continue the discussion.   In this week's podcast episode, we're exploring all aspects of body shame, starting with what it is (spoiler alert--it's not just negative body image).  We move into a discussion about the difference between parts of us who carry shame about our body (generally exiles) and parts who shame our body as a way of trying to help us (protector parts).  Finally, we end the episode on how to start healing body shame. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make everyone's body shame disappear.  At the very least, I wish I could promise you that this is a quick, easy process.  Unfortunately though, I can't.  But I absolutely do think it's possible to release a lot of this shame and feel much better about and comfortable within your body.  And hopefully, this week's podcast episode will help!  Take a listen!