When Touch Feels Unsafe: Reclaiming Embodiment After Trauma
Mental Health Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Mental Health Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

When Touch Feels Unsafe: Reclaiming Embodiment After Trauma

Touch can feel overwhelming or even threatening after trauma, leaving many people confused by their own reactions. This post explores why the body responds this way and offers gentle, trauma-sensitive steps to rebuild safety, boundaries and connection with your physical self at your own pace.

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The Mirror Isn’t the Enemy: Seeing Your Body After Trauma
Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

The Mirror Isn’t the Enemy: Seeing Your Body After Trauma

For many trauma survivors, looking in the mirror isn’t shallow—it’s painful. This post explores why reflection can trigger shame, flashbacks, or disconnection, and offers gentle, therapeutic ways to rebuild a sense of safety in your body and reclaim your reflection with compassion.

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Your Body Remembers: How Trauma Lives in the Body (and How to Reconnect Gently)
Mental Health Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Mental Health Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

Your Body Remembers: How Trauma Lives in the Body (and How to Reconnect Gently)

Trauma isn’t just a story from the past—it’s an imprint your body continues to carry. In this gentle, therapist-informed guide, we explore how trauma lives in the body through somatic memory and dissociation, and how you can begin reconnecting with yourself through compassion, pacing, and safety. This is for anyone who feels disconnected from their body and longs to return to it slowly, without pressure or judgment.

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When Safety Looks Like Control: Understanding Trauma Responses Through Food and Body
Disordered Eating Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Disordered Eating Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

When Safety Looks Like Control: Understanding Trauma Responses Through Food and Body

For many people, control over food or their body isn’t vanity; it’s a matter of survival. This post explores how restrictive eating, rigid routines, or body-focused behaviours can emerge as trauma responses, offering a sense of safety when life feels unpredictable. With compassion and clinical insight, we examine why these patterns emerge and how to gently cultivate new forms of safety that don’t rely on control.

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The Role of Self-Compassion in Body Image Healing
Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

The Role of Self-Compassion in Body Image Healing

If harsh self-talk ever made you feel better about your body, it would have worked by now. True healing begins with compassion, not control. This post explores how self-compassion can soften shame, calm your inner critic, and create lasting body image change.

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What If I Miss My Eating Disorder?
Disordered Eating Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Disordered Eating Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

What If I Miss My Eating Disorder?

No one talks about the grief that comes with recovery. Missing your eating disorder doesn’t mean you’re failing; it means you’re human. This post explores why letting go can feel like loss, and how to find new safety, identity, and care on the other side.

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Can I Heal My Relationship with Food Without Loving My Body?
Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

Can I Heal My Relationship with Food Without Loving My Body?

If loving your body feels impossible, you’re not alone. Healing your relationship with food isn’t about forcing body positivity; it’s about building trust, safety, and compassion, one small act at a time. This post explores how recovery can begin long before “body love” arrives.

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The Trauma of Diet Culture: Why It’s Not Just “About the Food”
Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

The Trauma of Diet Culture: Why It’s Not Just “About the Food”

Diet culture isn’t just about food—it’s a system that teaches us to mistrust our bodies, equate thinness with worth, and disconnect from ourselves. For many, its impact runs deep, leaving scars that look more like trauma than “bad habits.” This post explores how diet culture operates as a collective wound and what healing can look like.

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You Weren’t ‘Too Sensitive: How Childhood Comments About Weight Leave a Lasting Mark
Diet Culture, Disordered Eating, Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Diet Culture, Disordered Eating, Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

You Weren’t ‘Too Sensitive: How Childhood Comments About Weight Leave a Lasting Mark

“Are you sure you want seconds?” “You’ve got such a pretty face if only you lost a little weight.” Seemingly harmless comments like these often leave a lasting mark, shaping how we feel about our bodies well into adulthood. This post explores why those words stick and how you can begin to heal from their impact.

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Safety in Shrinking: When Weight Loss Becomes a Coping Strategy
Disordered Eating, Body Image, Mental Health Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Disordered Eating, Body Image, Mental Health Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

Safety in Shrinking: When Weight Loss Becomes a Coping Strategy

When weight loss feels like control or protection, it can quietly become a way to survive trauma. This post explores why shrinking sometimes feels safe, the hidden costs of this coping mechanism, and how to begin finding security in your body without relying on restriction or disappearance.

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How Trauma Shapes Our Relationship with Food and the Body
Disordered Eating, Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Disordered Eating, Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

How Trauma Shapes Our Relationship with Food and the Body

Why do food and body image struggles run so deep and feel so hard to change? For many, the answer lies in trauma. In this gentle, psychoeducational post, we explore how trauma responses like dissociation, shame, and control can quietly shape eating behaviours, and why compassion (not willpower!) is key to healing.

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The Myth of the 'Good Body': Unlearning Internalised Beauty Standards
Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

The Myth of the 'Good Body': Unlearning Internalised Beauty Standards

Ever feel like you’re chasing an invisible standard you didn’t agree to? You’re not alone. This blog post explores how internalised beauty ideals shape our sense of worth—and how letting go of the “good body” myth can create space for real healing. If you’re tired of tying your value to how you look, this one’s for you.

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Why Body Image Isn’t Really About Your Body
Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

Why Body Image Isn’t Really About Your Body

If you’ve ever felt like your body image struggles go beyond the mirror, you’re not imagining it. This post explores why poor body image is rarely just about weight or appearance—and how deeper issues like trauma, control, and belonging often shape how we see ourselves. Whether you're in recovery or just starting to question how you relate to your body, this is a gentle invitation to look beneath the surface.

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When the Compliments Feel Uncomfortable: Navigating Praise After Weight Loss
GLP1 Medication, Body Image, Diet Culture Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS GLP1 Medication, Body Image, Diet Culture Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

When the Compliments Feel Uncomfortable: Navigating Praise After Weight Loss

Compliments about weight loss can be confusing—sometimes they feel good, and other times they stir up anxiety, pressure, or old body image wounds. If you’ve felt uneasy receiving praise for your changing body, you’re not alone. This post explores the complex emotions behind these compliments and offers gentle strategies to protect your mental health and reclaim your relationship with your body.

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When Clients Ask About Weight Loss Injections: An Ethical Guide for Therapists
GLP1 Medication Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS GLP1 Medication Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

When Clients Ask About Weight Loss Injections: An Ethical Guide for Therapists

More clients are asking therapists about Mounjaro, and other weight loss injections—but how can we respond ethically, without reinforcing weight-centric norms? In this guide, I offer compassionate strategies for holding space without judgment, supporting client autonomy, and staying grounded in body-inclusive values. Whether you’re HAES-aligned or just feeling unsure how to navigate this growing conversation, this post is here to support your clinical integrity.

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Weight Loss, Wellness, and the Danger of a 'Quick Fix' Mentality
GLP1 Medication, Diet Culture Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS GLP1 Medication, Diet Culture Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

Weight Loss, Wellness, and the Danger of a 'Quick Fix' Mentality

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are often framed as the latest wellness breakthrough, but is rapid weight loss really the same as true health? In this post, I explore the emotional and psychological risks of chasing quick fixes, including the pressure to stay thin, the erosion of body trust, and how diet culture disguises itself as self-care. If you’ve ever felt conflicted about what “wellness” really means, this is your invitation to slow down, question the narrative, and choose a kinder path forward.

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Body Neutrality in the Age of Weight Loss Drugs
GLP1 Medication, Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS GLP1 Medication, Body Image Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

Body Neutrality in the Age of Weight Loss Drugs

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy can change your body—but they don’t have to change your worth. In this post, I explore what body neutrality looks like when you're navigating weight loss, shifting identity, and outside pressure to perform transformation. Whether you're feeling more at home in your body or more confused than ever, there's space here for respect, care, and self-compassion—no matter your size or shape.

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How to Navigate Body Image Changes on GLP-1 Medications
GLP1 Medication Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS GLP1 Medication Karen Lynne Oliver, BA, BSc (Hons), MA, GMBPsS

How to Navigate Body Image Changes on GLP-1 Medications

Losing weight on GLP-1 medications like Ozempic or Wegovy might change how your body looks—but it can also stir up complicated emotions you didn’t expect. From grief and fear of regain to the pressure of compliments and shifting self-worth, body image work doesn’t end with weight loss—it often just begins. In this post, I’ll help you make sense of the mental and emotional impact of body changes, and offer gentle ways to rebuild body trust with compassion.

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