Dear Dr. Cutler,

I have been obese since my childhood from which I have some painful memories. Through the years I have tried every imaginable diet possible as well as hypnosis, and I’ve become so desperate that I’ve even considered gastric bypass surgery. But I read an article recently about how emotions can be directly linked to obesity. Can you give me your thoughts on the subject?

—Linda L.

Dear Linda,

I absolutely believe that emotions are connected to health-damaging obesity. According to Karol Truman’s book, Feelings Buried Alive Never Die and Louise Hay’s book, You Can Heal Your Life, every physical illness has an emotional or spiritual root. And these authors believe that obesity occurs because your spirit has been significantly wounded.

“The body is the reflection of the spirit… and its problems are the dramatization of the struggles of the spirit… Everyone dies by his own hand—that’s a hard clinical fact, not a moral view,” states David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., author of Power vs. Force.

But please don’t let this create either anger or shame in you—see it as a powerful opportunity. You can start on a new path of transformation at any given time—even this moment. You do have the power to remove the emotions that are hurting you and your physical body will gradually follow. How do you start?

You must change your thoughts and feelings. “What you think and what you feel and what manifests is always a match—every single time, no exception,” states Esther Hicks, co-author of the Teachings of Abraham. In other words, if you feel bad about yourself or your body, or blame other people for your situation, you’ll likely continue to manifest your obesity.

However, when you forgive, you’re letting in those healing thoughts and feelings. And you’re opening the door to the outcomes you long for. So release your self-blame or blaming other people… then watch as your negative emotions begin to vanish—and your weight with them.

All the best!
Michael Cutler, M.D.