How Mary's Self Sabotage Kept Her From Slimming Down

Mary wanted to lose weight, but she kept sabotaging herself. Being a gifted and highly skilled therapist, Mary understood the reasons. When she was a child, Mary’s mother saw Mary as a competitor. Her mother was constantly obsessed with Mary’s body, pressuring her to eat and then hounding her to lose weight. By age 9, Mary was compulsively overeating and afraid to lose her mother’s approval. Mary’s mother scrutinized everything she ate and began bringing her to diet doctors by age 11, even though she was never grossly overweight. Mary was constantly criticized. By age 16, her mother would say things to her, like “you look like an oak tree – your legs look like tree trunks.” Obsessed with her own weight, her mother was full of rage and envy toward Mary anytime she would achieve success. Mary feared for her life.