🌿 MIND

Family Patterns & Inherited Beliefs

We inherit beliefs. We inherit silence. And sometimes we inherit wounds that were never healed. Some of us are still carrying cellular memories from institutions and circumstances like slavery, survival, and trauma. Mindsets passed down through generations, a heaviness that never originated from us. A weight that doesn’t even belong to us.

And yet… here we are, carrying it.

🎭 The Roles We Never Auditioned For

We need to normalize the act of stopping and asking: Whose belief is this? Did I choose it? Or was it handed to me like an old pair of shoes that don’t even fit?

Sometimes—some-times—you realize you’ve been playing a role your whole life. Caretaker. Fixer. Silent one. Pretender. You never auditioned for these roles. You didn’t even want them. They just showed up. And you put them on like costumes. Because somebody had to, right? Because nobody else would do it, right? At least that’s what you told yourself.

But guess what? You can hand in your resignation slip today. You don’t have to play that part anymore. You get to say, I’m choosing me.

🍴 Food as a Role Too

Now let me tell you how this ties to food — because it always does.

Comfort food carries its own language. The starches, the cornbread, the mac and cheese, the fried everything. These dishes were more than meals; they were love on a plate. Creating a meal was often the way our families said, I care for you. I see you. You belong here. And when life made us feel unseen or unloved, food stood in the gap. Sweet potato pie at midnight with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream was more than dessert — it was medicine for loneliness.

Some of us grew up learning that food was a role we had to play, too. Comfort food became code for I love you. Overeating turned into a badge of honor at holidays — plates piled high, laughter rolling, “the itis” setting in before the evening news. And while some family members seemed to walk away untouched, aging slim with silver hair, not all of us had that luck. My insulin resistance told me a different story.

And this is where it becomes more than just food. The weight isn’t only on the body; it’s on the heart, on the spirit, on the generations before us. It’s physical pounds mixed with emotional heaviness, layered with generational memories. We end up carrying other people’s stuff in our bodies, silence in our stomachs, and pain on our plates.

💊 GLP-1 as a Pause Button

That’s why GLP-1 hits different. It quiets the noise in the body long enough for the mind to catch up. It helps you pause before you reach for that extra bite you didn’t even want.

It gives you the space to ask: Am I eating because I’m hungry, or because I’m rehearsing an old role?

Because pretending is easier than feeling. Pretending to be satisfied. Pretending not to be hurt. Pretending that the extra twenty pounds don’t bother you when they really do. Pretending that eating at night keeps you company when it really just numbs you.

But the body never lies. It tells the truth even when we don’t.

✨ The Real Choice

And here’s the deeper truth: you don’t have to keep pretending. You don’t have to keep performing. You don’t have to carry every pattern handed down to you. Some of it doesn’t belong to you. Never did.

You can put the fork down. You can breathe. You can say: This role doesn’t fit me anymore.

Because GLP-1 is the tool, yes — but you are the transformation. The medicine can quiet the cravings, but it can’t choose for you. That part is yours.

And if you’re brave enough, you’ll start to notice. You’ll see the moments you reach for food when what you really want is love. Or when you stay quiet, because speaking would disrupt the family script. Or when you take care of everyone else while your own plate is overflowing.

That’s when you get to stop. To breathe. To ask: Do I even want this role? Do I even want this pattern? Or am I just playing along because it’s what I was taught?

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll hear yourself whisper back: No more. I choose me.

🪞 Journaling Prompts

• What roles am I playing (caretaker, fixer, silent one, pretender) that I never chose?
• Which family or food beliefs feel heavy on me today? Which ones do I want to release?
• When I reach for food, am I hungry — or am I filling an old role?
• What emotional weight am I carrying that doesn’t belong to me?
• Write 5 “I Am” statements that reflect the truth of who you are (ex: I am enough. I am worthy. I am free.).