For me it is about control. I am emotional and do not know how to control my emotions well. My fuse is so short and my anger intense sometimes if I get triggered and it wake up memories from past abuse. I attach all the humiliations onto how my body looked when the humiliations happened and when I think of gaining weight and risk looking like that again it makes me frightened as if it can cause more abuse. It is not logic, but I don't know how to shake it off. My emotions are stronger after all the abuse and humiliations. I have a killer instinct now I didn't have before. I have to control my emotions so I don't hurt anyone and my body that may attract more abuse. I get better year to year, but to let go completely is hard. I still fear humiliations and to not be taken seriously.
It i hard to recover when not knowing why you do what you do. I read somewhere that a cause could be to have a sense of control, stability, in a chaotic uncontrollable world (after trauma). That resonated with me. I think it serves as an armor, a defence mechanism, created after trauma. I asked myself: What if I just let go and eat more and gain weight? A lot of emotions comes up, fear, anger and memories of abuse comes up. So yes I think I try to prevent things like that to happen again, long time after they happened. To control the body does not help in that regard at all. It is like grabbing a straw of grass when falling down a hillside and hold on to it as if it is better than nothing while falling. I think it can help to learn how to set boundaries for ourselves and to heal past trauma. Abuse woke up a killer instinct in me. To control my own emotions is the difficult part and I wonder if that is why I focus on controlling the body instead. Like a distraction from the chaotic world and my emotions. Yes, I think that is the key: Distraction. Like smoking to get a break from it all and put a lid on the subconscious and a wall up towards the world.
I wonder if there is magic thinking at play here, hoping to control how people behave towards us indirectly by believing: "If only I change the way I look I will be free to be authentic because people will treat me with respect and kindness?" But we can not control other people. We can not prevent bad things to happen. We can only control how we respond to it, but that is the difficult part. To not react, but be genuinely how we want to be take a lot of energy. We have to be open and vulnerable, we have to care about other peoples feelings, be selfless. I think my bad self image is bad when I think about the times I was not nice. When I was out of control. Also when I look through the eyes of others who dislike me. I don't feel that I have cracked the nut for why I cling to the control of my food intake or I would have changed and would not feel fear and anger the minute I think of letting go of the control. Maybe it is my anger I try to keep in check by controlling my food intake? Maybe it keeps the fear at bay? To avoid feeling out of control in general? Feeling the powerlessness that is real? That I can not control other people, if they abuse or reject me? I don't know because I still cling to calculations and weighing. A crutch? I can not know anything for sure.
What I am sure about is humiliations is a cause of why I started manipulating my body. I felt repulsed, angry, humiliated, sad and what not by other peoples actions towards me, but could not express anything. The body stood between the person and me every time. If it was prettier maybe I would have been treated better? If I looked more fierce and strong maybe I wouldn't been seen as an easy victim? Or if I looked more child-like I would have been spared? I want to control my surroundings so I am not invaded or hurt again, but are only able to control my body, the part of me that is in the world. Because when something horrible happens I become speechless and freeze. I can not protect myself. All I can do is prevent things from happening. By avoiding people and manipulating my body. I should know by now it does not hinder me from getting hurt or abused at all. Still I continue.
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar