My experience with weight loss injections as a counsellor

Over the past few months, I have been using weight loss injections as part of a deeply personal and transformative health journey. 

My initial motivation was straightforward: I wanted to address the increasing weight gain and reliance on medications like blood pressure tablets and statins. I was concerned about the direction things were heading. But what has unfolded since then has been far more profound, touching on not just physical health, but emotional well-being, self-perception, and how I move through the world.

In recent years, weight loss injections such as GLP-1 receptor agonists have become a powerful tool in helping individuals reduce weight and improve long-term health. But what’s less commonly discussed is the psychological transformation that can accompany these physical changes. For many, this isn’t just about eating less – it’s about coming into a different relationship with food, self-image, and emotional well-being.

Weight gain and emotional eating often stem from deeper patterns. Food can become a pacifier, a companion, a buffer against stress, boredom, or unresolved emotions. For some, weight gain follows years of over-functioning, people-pleasing, and absorbing the emotional weight of others. When weight loss medication reduces appetite and the compulsion to eat softens, what surfaces underneath can be surprising – and sometimes unsettling.

One common experience among people taking these medications is the emergence of unrecognised anxiety. Without the usual habits of comfort eating or drinking, long-buried emotions may rise to the surface. The space between feeling and action widens, offering new choices – but also demanding new coping strategies. Events that used to trigger dread or stress may feel different, and old routines may no longer fit.

Many people report behavioural shifts too: reduced interest in alcohol or social eating, increased desire for rest, or changes in energy levels. While some may feel liberated and clear-headed, others may feel a little flat, tired, or uncertain as their familiar emotional anchors fade. These shifts are often deeply personal and complex.

This is where counselling can be invaluable. Therapy offers a safe space to explore what’s changing – not just in the body, but in identity, relationships, and patterns of behaviour. Clients often ask:

• Who am I now, without the habits that used to define or soothe me?
• How do I manage emotions without turning to food?
• Why do I feel flat or disconnected, even as I’m ‘doing well’?
• What happens to my relationships when I start prioritising my own needs?

These are not superficial questions – they are profound invitations to grow. Therapy can help clients uncover the beliefs that fuelled emotional eating, address the roots of people-pleasing or perfectionism, and develop healthier emotional regulation skills. It also offers a space to grieve: for time lost, for what was carried, or for parts of the self that are now being shed.

Weight loss isn’t just about reaching a target on the scale. It often stirs up shifts in confidence, visibility, boundary-setting, and how one is perceived by others. These themes can be empowering – and also confronting. Therapy provides the continuity and support needed to move through this terrain thoughtfully.

Whether you're at the start of your journey with weight loss injections, finding your rhythm in the middle, or adjusting to life at a new weight, counselling can help you make sense of what’s arising. By focusing on emotional well-being alongside physical change, you give yourself the best chance of long-term success and authentic self-connection.

If you’re navigating these changes, you’re not alone, and support is available to help you grow through the process, not just go through it.