Trauma Changes More Than Emotions
When someone is overweight, they often face harsh unspoken prejudice that they are lazy, sedentary, unhealthy, have poor self-control, and eat crap. This silent cruelty drives shame. In fact, metabolism is largely influenced by the experience of stress and trauma. When a wounded person is healing from traumatic circumstances, shame is the last thing they need; what they deserve is respect, love and understanding.
People often blame themselves for weight gain despite nutrition and exercising. While diet and physical activity matter, they aren't the whole story. Chronic stress and traumatic experiences produce lasting changes in the brain, hormones, metabolism, sleep, inflammation, and eating behavior that contribute to weight gain. Addressing metabolism adaptations with these in mind add to the amazing work you are doing with your healing journey.
The Blame and Shame Game
People often talk about their weight gain and immediately launch into proving healthy choices, dedicated exercise routine, and health standards. It is as if they are trying to wash away the stigma of weight gain. The main idea along the lines of, “I have gained weight, but I am not lazy or eating crap.”
My dear friend, DeAun Nelson, ND in Portland, OR who studies eating disorders, and I had a wonderful conversation lately about the stigma of weight gain. She pointed out something that really stuck with me. Even if you gained weight due to not getting off the couch and over eating snacks, guess what? You still deserve respect and love. We ALL deserve love and respect, no matter what.
The human body is remarkably adaptive, and one of its primary jobs is survival. When the nervous system perceives prolonged danger, chronic stress, or unresolved trauma, it begins making physiological adjustments to keep us alive. Those same adaptations can often promote weight gain.
The Biology of Survival
Our nervous system constantly evaluates whether we are safe. During immediate danger, the sympathetic nervous system ("fight-or-flight" response) mobilizes energy. Heart rate increases, blood sugar rises, and metabolism temporarily speeds up to help us survive.
You can only stay in this acute state of arousal for so long. When stress becomes chronic, the nervous system begins adapting in ways that conserve energy rather than spend it. Mechanisms that may contribute to weight gain over time include:
Dysregulation of the stress response (Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal axis or Adrenal Fatigue)
Altered thyroid hormone signaling
Increased insulin resistance
Changes in appetite-regulating hormones
Poor sleep quality
Chronic low-grade inflammation
You are not broken, these reactions are survival adaptations.
The sympathetic nervous system helps determine how much energy we burn throughout the day. It stimulates thermogenesis (heat production), activates brown adipose tissue, and contributes to resting energy expenditure, AKA resting metabolism.
Researchers have even proposed the "MONA LISA Hypothesis," suggesting that some individuals who develop obesity may have relatively lower sympathetic nervous system activity or a blunted sympathetic response after meals. MONA LISA is an acronym -
Most
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Lower sympathetic activity reduces daily energy expenditure and thermogenesis, making weight gain more likely despite similar calorie intake. Chronic trauma alters the autonomic regulation over time to lowers the sympathetic tone and signal the body to store energy and create an environment where gaining weight becomes easier and losing weight becomes significantly more difficult.
Body size does not determine human value.
Whether weight gain is driven by trauma, hormones, medications, grief, genetics, illness, emotional eating, or lifestyle choices, every person deserves compassionate healthcare, not judgment. When we understand that trauma affects far more than our emotions, we begin asking different questions.
Instead of asking, "Why don't you have more willpower?" We ask, "What have you been trying to survive?" That shift changes everything.
Healing metabolism is not solely about nutrition and exercise. In fact, because the metabolic adaptation exists from a chronic stress response, it is wise to consider these nervous system adaptations, otherwise risk rebound weight gain is assured. The benefit lies in creating an environment where the body once again feels safe.
Weight gain is not always a personal failure. Sometimes, it is the remarkable story of a body that learned how to survive. And everybody that has survived deserves compassion.