The Problem With Getting Your “Body Back”.

I am sure you have heard the concept about getting your “body back” after pregnancy. 

As an eating disorder therapist, this concept - which is rooted in societal expectations of what our bodies ‘should’ look like - is infuriating.

At the same time, as a therapist who also specializes in perinatal mental health, I have seen a different perspective of this idea of getting your “body back”.

What I have noticed over the years of working with postpartum people, as well as having personally gone through the transformational process of becoming a parent, is the unexpected loss of *identity* when becoming a parent.

The loss of identity was something I didn’t see coming. I felt like I didn’t know who I was anymore. While I felt so much love and joy with my baby, I also was grieving the loss of who I was. 

I have seen this in countless people I have worked with as they have navigated the postpartum phase. If any of this is resonating with you, you are not alone.

I have also seen how the concept of getting your “body back” after pregnancy becomes synonymous with getting *you* back. 

I have seen people diet and exercise, working towards their pre-pregnancy weight, hoping they will find *themselves* when they reach that number.

What people find, all too often, is reaching that number is not the fix to how they are feeling. 

I am sure you can guess why. 

First, because it is *never* about the number on the scale. It is *always* something deeper.

And second, because you aren’t the same person anymore. You have gone through the labyrinth of pregnancy and birth, coming out into the maze of parenthood completely anew. 

Which can feel so exciting, and scary. Focusing on weight may feel like a nice distraction, but it won’t be the answer to what you are searching for - which, most likely, is *yourself*.

You do not have to do this healing on your own. Please connect with a therapist (who specializes in working with perinatal mental health and/or eating disorders) to support you on your parenthood journey.

And click here to check out my upcoming course, Finding Peace With Food and Body (During Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Beyond)!