Ann Weiser Cornell: The Real Reason You Keep Going Back to Sugar

If willpower, meal plans, and “just quit” advice actually worked, sugar addiction wouldn’t keep coming back.

In this deeply honest conversation, Florence sits down with Dr. Ann Weiser Cornell, a pioneer in trauma-informed healing and Inner Relationship Focusing, to explore the real reason so many people relapse with sugar and ultra-processed foods — and why it has far less to do with food than we’ve been taught to believe.

This episode unpacks how trauma, emotional shutdown, and inner conflict drive compulsive eating, why control and restriction often make cravings worse, and how learning to relate differently to our emotions can dissolve the inner war that keeps us stuck.

You’ll learn:

• Why sugar is often used to avoid overwhelming emotions
• How trauma disconnects us from body wisdom and choice
• Why “shoulds,” discipline, and control backfire with addiction
• What it actually means to heal the root of cravings
• How self-led decisions create peace — not inner rebellion

This is not a conversation about dieting.

It’s about safety, presence, and learning how to meet what comes up when the sugar goes down.

If you’ve ever wondered why you keep going back to sugar — even when you don’t want to — this episode will change how you see addiction, healing, and yourself.

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