Visualization for Weight Loss -The Gabriel Method

Part II: Nonphysical Stresses that Activate the FAT Programs

Around him, I always felt as if he was violating my mental space. Our working relationship was such that we were both very much dependent on each other for the success of our busi- ness. I needed him as much as he needed me. As a result, there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Because I could not escape, the only thing I could do was try to create some kind of distance between the two of us, and that is exactly what I did. The fat created distance between us; in essence, I was hiding inside my body. The fat acted like a buffer zone between us, and it very much made me feel safer. The fat also made me feel safer because, the bigger I was, the less threatening he seemed to be. He was already taller and stronger than me, and this made me afraid of him physically. Sometimes when he was angry, he would start flailing his arms around and throwing things, and I was always afraid that the sit- uation would get violent. In his defense, he never got violent nor did he have a violent nature. But I was still always afraid that we would come to blows. Eventually, I was literally twice his size. Once I got big enough, I knew that he wouldn’t attack me in a million years. The way my body adapted was very similar to what happens in nature. Animals that can’t run away from predators sometimes just get so big that no predator will touch them. Look at ele- phants or whales. They can’t outrun predators, but they also don’t have to worry about them because nothing is ever going to try to attack them. I couldn’t run away from my attacker, so I became like a whale instead. If you are in an abusive relationship of any kind, you need to get help from family, friends, loved ones, or professionals. The relationship has to either change or end. Sometimes, once you are able to express yourself to your abuser, he or she will become aware of the dynamic and change. In most cases, when it comes to emotional abuse, the abuser has no idea what is going on in your head. Don’t discount your feelings by sweeping them under the carpet, because it’s these feelings that are making and keeping you fat. If you want to lose weight, the nature of the relationship

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