Lifestyle Mind Spirit

Can You Think Yourself Thin? When is it Not Just a Simple Affirmation?

I have been paying attention much more lately to the whole mind and body connection- perhaps rather, it has been coming into my awareness within the last few days quite strongly for some reason. I really felt pulled to write a quick blog on this because the various subject matters surrounding this connection are, in my opinion, quite important.

This topic has led me down a pathway of exploration to understand the pressing question for some thought enthusiasts including myself who are asking- can you think yourself thin?

Well firstly, I think we need to explore the first piece of the topic:

Does the mind rule the body- or does the body rule the mind?

Can you think yourself thin

The “chicken and egg” approach to this topic will have people taking different stances on the subject matter depending on their own personal experiences. You can read my mind body connection post further here once it is ready I will link it.

A key concept coming from this post is that our mind does have powerful thoughts that shape, control and configure our body and our every move.

Getting back to the question of if we are able to think yourself into being thin, the short answer is yes. As a Clinical Hypnotherapist, I help many clients with shedding weight and the habits that help to make this happen.

BUT-

As a person who also comes from a background of disordered eating patterns, how does something like “thinking yourself thin” apply in much deeper and more contextual fashion?

Let me dissect this topic a little bit further.

Thinking Yourself Thin- The Mainstream Answer in a Nutshell.

So a “normal” person would view this post with the thought, “Oh, perfect I can control my thoughts to make myself thin! Wonderful!”

As an avid “law of attraction” fan this question could be answered quite simply- yes you can. You are the manifestation of your thoughts and beliefs. So if you look in the mirror and visualize yourself as a thin person, call yourself a thin person, and focus on the results you are wanting as a then person then you will attract the desired habits and functions needed to achieve your desired result.

Let us take this a bit further though- when does “thinking yourself thin” cross the line?

As a person who has struggled for years with disordered eating, the mentality behind “thinking yourself thin” comes from a very sacred place- a place that goes much further and much deeper than just a “law of attraction” topic that is currently trending.

Not only can it become a way of life, thinking yourself thin can become a debilitating obsession that consumes every thought, every waking moment and every decision.

A personal experience- When “Thinking Thin” Goes Too Far.

An example of how the body follows the mind in a very unhealthy way is something I learned from personal experience for many years.

With Anorexia, thinking yourself thin meant drastically low-calorie restriction, barely eating at all. Having mental power over hunger cues when your body is screaming for nutrition So yes, in this case, you are “thinking” yourself thin.

Bulimia showed up in my life next, probably because my body was starving from the anorexia and needing adequate nutrition especially as a growing girl… I believe I was around the age of 13 when it started. In some ways,  you could look at “Bulimia saving y life”, again another post.

Which leads me into another pathway- thinking yourself in the opposite direction

For me, “thinking yourself thin” meant I had to be at a certain standard to be enough. (By the way, the goal post kept getting raised so that the standard could never be achieved). This can plant a seed of doubt on your self-worth and self-esteem.All the focus surrounding food, restriction…. it leads to a binge.

And then purge.

And the cycle continued.

It continued for many years and would peak in times of higher emotional stress but the interesting thing is that inevitably I started to gain weight, by body was malnourished and held onto calories which  again, is another post topic… ironically I had placed so much emphasis on “not being thin enough” that I guess from a law of attraction standpoint I had thought myself into another direction…

Thinking Yourself in The Other Direction

Binge Eating-

So as someone who had struggled severely with bulimia I would then also fall into the category of binge eating because that is wat it is to a various degree, minus the purge. I wonder why there a reason why the obesity rate is on a steady incline (besides the obvious bad habits that people have nowadays)?

I do want to point out there are so many other factors within this topic- we have just really touched the very tip of the ice burg on this subject.

This post seriously brings me back to inception with all the posts I feel I need to do within this post-sheesh. There are so many other aspects to touch on here such as nutrition, mental health, etc. Ultimately disordered eating does not truely stem from “being thin” it goes much, much deeper.

(I notice that my posts are like Inception; so any posts within this post. I digress, )

As I struggle to stay on topic with this post and stick to the main idea, I invite you to comment below with any aspects that do interest you that may have come up while reading this.

I DIGRESS AGAIN,

So, for someone such as myself “thinking myself thin” has many more complexities than meet the eye- a simple sentence can become a dismantled trigger that leads a person to go down the dark doorway of obsessive restricting, bingeing or disordered thinking.

And as you can see, this whole “can you think yourself thin” situation poses to be a double edged sort for a person with disordered eating.

Now- My mind is healthier. Much healthier. I am able to share this topic in hopes to bring insights, stir up conversations, and maybe during this journey I can help others heal as I continue to heal myself. I do want to tell you that if you suffer from any style of disordered eating, recovery IS possible. I know this first hand.

Going back to the original question, I do invite you to consider that yes indeed, you can think yourself thin.

But I also invite you to explore this topic at a much deeper level- and understand the different positions and contexts that come along with it.

I would love to know, where do you stand on this topic and what are your own personal experiences and or challenges you face?

 

4 thoughts on “Can You Think Yourself Thin? When is it Not Just a Simple Affirmation?”

  1. Interesting post. I am not struggling with disordered eating but I recently took a NLP course. Since then I am involved in all sorts of body and mind connection topics. Will definitely explore further…

    1. Hi Juan! NLP is also a very similar/fascinating topic which parallels with hypnosis quite well. I am interested to hear more about what you have learned through your course…

  2. Hi, Andrea!
    I always believe that our mind rules the body, and our thoughts are important. It is possible to think yourself thin. The most important thing is that you need to accept yourself as you are. You can change it by accepting yourself and trying to be the best self.
    In fact, it happened to me. I had a little bit more weight than usual, but now I am almost as thin as I was some years ago. It is like a miracle, and I am not sure how it happened. 🙂 I think I was not even trying. Maybe it happened because I discovered my purpose, something I can do all my life and enjoy.
    Everything is possible.
    Linda

    1. Hi Linda! Congrats on the weight loss- I am pretty sure that discovering your passion and purpose had an instrumental part to it 🙂 Do you find that you are eating less?

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