What We Resist, Persists

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In this episode, we explore a simple but powerful idea: when we resist uncomfortable feelings, they tend to grow stronger, not weaker.

This pattern shows up everywhere: for example anxiety on a plane, dental fear, body image, ageing, and cravings.

Key threads we unpack:

• Resistance breeds shame. When we don't admit we're struggling — because we feel we shouldn't be — that gap between who we are and who we think we should be becomes a breeding ground for shame.
• Naming a fear diffuses it. How advocating for ourselves and how being seen rather than being dismissed or "fixed" can make all the difference.
• Eating disorder recovery parallels. How treating a difficult part of yourself as an enemy that needs defeating can backfire — versus understanding it as a protective part trying to help.
• Body image and the "messy middle." You don't have to love your body to accept it. Holding two truths at once — "I feel uncomfortable with this" and "I'm not going back to the diet train" — is 'healthier' than forced positivity.
• Cravings work the same way. Resisting a food craving by having a substitute often just prolongs the craving — sometimes having the thing you actually want is the kinder, more effective option.
• Permission to not be the "fun, positive" person all the time. Whether it's dreading a hot holiday, not wanting a birthday party, or feeling slower on a run than you were years ago — we both land on the idea that accepting discomfort (rather than fighting it or forcing yourself into positivity) is what actually creates ease.

The takeaway: acceptance doesn't mean loving everything about how you feel or look — it means making room for the truth of where you are, without judgment, so the feeling doesn't have to fight so hard to be heard.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this - is there something you resist, that just doesn't get easier or go away? Is there something in your life where acceptance would bring about ease and peace?

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Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.  If you'd like exclusive access to our supporter-only channel click here.

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