A singer and actor who had a boob job to feel more desirable to her ex says she's much happier after having her implants removed.
Sofia Hayat was 30 when she went under the knife to have her breasts enhanced - but after four years of having a big chest, a hallucinogenic experience made her rethink her decision.
Sofia, who has starred in several TV shows and recorded two albums, said she decided to have cosmetic surgery after noticing her ex had a preference for busty women.
But looking back, she realises she hadn't considered the physical impact of the surgery on her body.
She told The Mirror: "You do not think about the pain and risks when you have the operation. It is a decision made by how one person made me feel about myself."
For more of the news you care about straight to your inbox, sign up for one of our daily newsletters here
She added she worries the media doesn't fully warn people about the dangers of having cosmetic surgery, preferring to focus on the "glamour."
After having her breasts enhanced, Sofia thinks she became "more of a sex symbol" and was lusted over by lots of men and women.
But she said: "I would rather be beautiful over being a sex symbol."
Sofia added: "Men also thought that if you had implants it is for the purpose of sex. It activates lust in men and women, when i think most people want to activate love not lust.
"Breasts have been portrayed over many generations as objects of lust and desire, and yet all women, me included want love."
After several years of living with her bigger breasts, Sofia, from London, had what she describes as a "spiritual awakening" after drinking ayahuasca.
The brew is a plant-based psychoactive that causes people to hallucinate. It's commonly used among indigenous communities in the Amazon.
Recalling her experience, Sofia said: "It made me not want implants anymore. It made me more spiritually aware of my body, and bought me back to my true self, my true energy."
While learning more about the electric energy running through her body, she realised the implants - made of silicone - were hindering rather than helping her.
Sofia said: "Silicone stops the conduction of electricity and your whole body is electric, so having something over my heart that stopped the conduction of the energetic heart, was a big shock for me.
"I also knew that I needed to love myself wholly and that my natural breasts are beautiful, and that breasts do not define my self worth.
"I understood that I am perfect, and that I always had been, and that I had let others make me feel I was not perfect and that I had flaws to fix."
Despite her epiphany, Sofia admits it was still difficult to adjust to having a smaller cup size after having the implants removed.
She said: "I did not want to look in the mirror after [the operation] because I thought I would look deflated and ugly."
But after 10 days of being wrapped up, she finally undid her bandages and looked at her natural boobs. And the reaction was overwhelming.
She recalled: "I cried, and I said, 'Oh my God you are perfect, I am so sorry that i thought that you were not good enough'.
"It was super healing. I felt like the breasts were hiding who I really was.
"I was really perfect and beautiful, and silicone did not make me more beautiful, it just hid my true beauty. Now I feel like I shine."
She added the implants made her feel "like a robot" because they weren't real.
Now, Sofia has released a music healing album, Wisdom of the Mother, and says she feels "amazing" and free of judgement from others. She also says she's stopped placing harsh judgement on herself.
Looking back on her decision to have implants in the first place, Sofia says if she could speak to her younger self, she'd tell her not to have the surgery.
She said: "I would say never let anyone or anything make you feel like you are not good enough. You are perfect, you are beautiful and you are unique."
Do you have a story to share? Email jessica.taylor@reachlc.com.
