Subdued mind, rebellious body
Olivia Davis
2026-03-16
4 min. read
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In his work "Refining Agreement", anthropologist W.. L. Urny maintains that over the past two and a half million years, man has presented himself as a being disinclined to engage in conflicts or wars.. Only in the last ten thousand years has man begun to employ brutality as a means of coercion.
The perception of one's own body
It may sound unusual, but he was the first to distinguish between the body and the soul. Plato viewed the body as a source of temptations that threatened the soul, overwhelming it and hindering its path to perfection. To preserve the soul, one had to reject the body, ignore its desires, and resist its deceptions. These ideas influenced certain Christian sects that despised the body and even promoted self-mortification. Only the Industrial Revolution, which gave rise to the middle class, shifted attention to women's appearance, turning it into a symbol of elegance. Previously, a woman's worth was measured by her abilities, fertility, or family ties, not her looks. Today, most women struggle with body dissatisfaction, plagued by insecurities, shame, and guilt. Surrounding messages demand discipline and perfection, implying that failing to meet these standards makes one lazy, undisciplined, or even foolish. Women are pressured to constantly improve their appearance through diets, exercise, makeup, and cosmetic procedures. As a result, the body becomes an enemy that prevents a fulfilling and happy life.
War for a beautiful figure
In fact, women come to me tired of the constant struggle with being overweight... they are ashamed of their feelings, maybe another defeat in this battle... and they report their fears, they tell me that they've had enough, they're eating a variety of diets... and there's no other way to subdue their bodies so that they can finally give up, so that at last a woman from the billboard will smile at them in the mirror... they'll be embarrassed of their emotions, another loss in that battle... but they report that they are afraid, they say, "I'm eating every meal because I feel like I'm dying again".
The subjugated mind, the defiant body
The body forced to submit to unhealthy trends must defend itself. Whenever we fall for the promises of yet another miracle diet with even lower caloric content or when we succumb to monodietary temptations, our body reacts. Perceiving the threat of starvation, it initiates a rebellion. As the only rational actor in this conflict, it begins storing energy and sending signals to the brain about its needs. Patiently, it waits for our mind to finally grasp these warnings. A body frightened by years of restrictive diets will seize every opportunity to store energy. When we eventually surrender – for we have no choice, as the instinct for self-preservation is stronger – the dark thoughts, guilt, low self-esteem, fear, and shame return. The only reasonable solution seems to be cooperation. It is time to listen to our body's signals, treat it as a close ally, for we will spend our entire life with it. By addressing its needs with empathy and understanding, we will start eating healthily and engaging in physical activity, because it will be necessary for us. Accepting and adapting our lifestyle to the needs of our organism will allow us to achieve an optimal weight, and the effects will be lasting.
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