You Can’t Heal the Body If the Soul Is Still Broken - Why quick fixes fail, and what true recovery really looks like

“Your trigger is a gateway to healing.”

That’s what Sammie Lee said at the start of our conversation—and from that moment on, I knew this episode would hit deep.

Sammie is a trauma-informed coach with a powerful story: from childhood abuse and food addiction to life-threatening eating disorders and, eventually, deep healing through body wisdom and self-compassion. This episode isn’t about weight loss. It’s about survival, presence, and what it really means to come home to yourself.

🔥 The Hidden Cost of Quick Fixes

We opened with a confronting stat:
Suicide attempts increase by 62% following restrictive weight loss surgeries.

Why? Because surgery doesn’t fix shame.
It changes your body—but not the beliefs underneath. When people aren’t supported emotionally, physically, and socially, those changes can collapse in on themselves.

Sammie’s take is simple and powerful:

“We keep chasing short-term solutions for long-term pain.”

 

🍽 Addiction, Worth, and the Real Roots of Eating Disorders

Sammie was 120kg at age 12. Not because she was lazy or undisciplined, but because food was safety. It was the one thing that helped her feel loved in an unsafe world. After being abused and dismissed, she coped the only way she knew how—until she couldn’t.

By 14, after a traumatic event, she dropped to 24kg. The eating disorder wasn’t about food.

“It was about control. About punishment. About trying to disappear.”

 

💬 The One Question That Changed Everything

At her lowest point, a coach asked her not “Why aren’t you eating?” but:
“What happened to you?”

That question cracked everything open. For the first time, someone saw her pain—not just her behaviour.

With support, Sammie began the long journey of reconnecting with her body’s wisdom, instead of punishing it. That meant slowing down, tuning in, and allowing herself to feel—without trying to fix everything.

“Once you understand the power of your choices, you realise you’re co-creating your life.”

 

🛑 The System Is Still Failing People

Hospitals focused on weight.
Doctors told her she wouldn’t live past 18.
Not one person asked about trauma.

Sammie makes it clear: you can’t heal a body if the soul is still hurting.

She challenges all of us—especially health professionals—to stop asking people what they want to weigh, and start asking:
“What do you believe about yourself?”

💡 Key Takeaways

• Addiction is unprocessed pain, not a personal failure

• What you model, you program. Your kids are watching

• Stop outsourcing your body’s wisdom. You know more than you think

• There’s no one-size-fits-all. What heals one person may harm another

• Healing starts with presence—not punishment

🧠 A Practice Worth Trying

Each day, ask yourself:
“What am I feeling? What do I need?”
Start there. That’s the beginning of real recovery.

🎧 Watch or listen now—and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

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