For many children raised by narcissistic parents, their body becomes another battleground where they learn that who they are is never quite acceptable.

Too thin? There's a problem.

Too heavy? There's a problem.

Trying to improve yourself? That's a problem too.

" I always felt that I disappointed my parents and they didn't like me."

"I always went from chunky to super skinny and kept moving back and forth with my weight."

"As an adult now, I'm an emotional eater. Food is my comfort."

"I don't drink or use any substances but when it comes to eating I just struggle."

"When I feel even a bit hungry I start to panic like the food will not be there later."

If you've spent years blaming yourself for emotional eating, binge eating, constantly thinking about food, or feeling out of control around eating, this episode may help you understand something important:

What if your relationship with food isn't really about food at all?

Many adult children of narcissistic, emotionally immature, or dysfunctional parents grow up believing they have a lack of willpower. They tell themselves they're lazy, undisciplined, or simply incapable of maintaining healthy habits.

But often, what looks like a food problem is actually a nervous system problem.

In this week's episode Dr. Ruth Callaghan and I, dive deep into this weeks letter of a listener of growing up with a narcissistic mother, an enabling father, family alcoholism, religious dysfunction, and a childhood where food became tangled up with love, safety, criticism, and survival.

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