"Trauma and adverse experiences that go unprocessed in the system can affect our relationship with our bodies in many ways, some on a biochemical level (van der Kolk, 2015). When we experience trauma or even prolonged stress, our bodies go into survival mode. Our adrenal glands kick into gear and the body tries to make sure it has enough energy to get through whatever the stressful situation is. This means an increase in our sugar levels (Blood Sugar and Stress, 2017). Prolonged stress can also slow our overall metabolism down. If you have a lot of stress chemicals pumping through your body, your blood sugar levels go up and your metabolism goes down (Rabassa and Dickenson, 2016, p. 73)."