We talk about dieting as if it’s a harmless, even virtuous, activity. A matter of discipline and self-control. A wellness choice.
We need to start talking about it for what it is: a form of self-inflicted, chronic, low-grade trauma.
I’m not being dramatic. I’m talking about neuroscience.
When you are in a state of trauma—when your life is perceived to be under threat—your brain and nervous system react in predictable ways. This is the classic fight-flight-freeze response.
Your prefrontal cortex—the logical, rational, “CEO” part of your brain—goes offline. Your limbic system—the primal, emotional, survival-focused part of your brain—takes over. Your body is flooded with stress hormones like cortisol. Your focus narrows to the immediate threat. You become hyper-vigilant, anxious, and obsessed with safety.
Now, what happens when you go on a diet?
To your ancient biology, which hasn’t changed much in 200,000 years, deliberate food restriction is not a “healthy choice.” It is a famine. It is a direct and immediate threat to survival.
And your brain reacts accordingly.
It triggers the exact same survival response.
Your prefrontal cortex goes offline (goodbye, willpower and long-term thinking). Your limbic system takes over (hello, obsessive food thoughts and intense cravings). Your body is flooded with cortisol (which, ironically, causes you to store fat, especially around your middle). You become hyper-vigilant and anxious, and your entire world narrows to the perceived threat: the lack of food.
Your brain on dieting looks a lot like your brain on trauma.
The obsession, the anxiety, the feeling of being out of control, the black-and-white thinking… these aren’t signs that you’re “bad” at dieting. These are the predictable neurological and physiological symptoms of a body that believes it is in mortal danger.
You have been blaming yourself for having a normal biological response to an abnormal situation. You have been shaming yourself for the symptoms of the very trauma you are inflicting on yourself.
The binge that inevitably follows the restriction? That’s not a failure of willpower. That is a survival mechanism. It’s your brilliant body, in a moment when the “threat” has passed, trying to stock up on resources before the next famine hits.
It’s time to stop calling this a diet and start calling it what it is. And it’s time to stop.
If this resonates, and you’re ready to stop traumatizing your own body, this is the way out. The work is to heal your nervous system from the years of self-inflicted famine. If you’re curious about that path, you can find more info at www.cetfreedom.com. Or just send me a message.
