It’s a well-known fact that there is a direct correlation between our stress level and our weight. As our stress level increases we tend to eat more and put on more weight. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that stress is bad for us.

But what is the mechanism behind it?

If you look at it from an energetic standpoint, where does stress come from? It comes from situations where we encounter resistance – where things simply don’t flow well and we feel like we are fighting battles left and right just to stay afloat and moving forward. When we experience this resistance, we intuitively know that we are encountering negative energy in some format, and we decide there is a need to protect ourselves from it. This is true regardless of whether the negative energy comes from within us or is an outer influence.

How do we protect ourselves from it?

I believe we actually slow down our own metabolism so that we will put on additional weight to protect ourselves. Yes, we might eat more or eat unhealthier and our cravings might change, but it truly happens in an effort to protect ourselves with some extra “padding.” And some of us actually do the reverse – lose our appetites and eat less in an effort to slow down our metabolism. I have seen and experienced both in myself. After all, our natural instinct as human beings is to protect ourselves from harm, even if that means the way in which we protect ourselves is not the healthiest way, but at the time it may seem as though it is the “lesser of two evils.”

What do we do about it?

The best thing to do about it is to find a way to prevent yourself from being so deeply affected by negative energy in the first place. There are many energetic protection methods out there than can help, and it really takes trying them to find out what works best for you. De-stressing should always be a top priority because it is usually not productive energy, no matter how you look at it. If you can remove the stressor, that’s truly the best option, but if you can’t, it’s best to try and shift your perception of it so it doesn’t seem quite so damaging to you. When you shift your perception in that manner, your reaction to it will not be so bad and you will not be so bothered by it.

Ultimately, however, the power to protect ourselves and combat negativity and to not allow ourselves to be affected by it comes from within. For it is only through fully accessing your power within that you can find your strength and know that you are stronger than any form of negative energy.