Triggers

Triggers.

I have a bone to pick with that word and anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about that word.

“That triggered me!” An Ed struggler will say.
“I can’t be around her because she is so triggering!”

What is difficult is when someone is in the hospital and they begin to whine and complain about how triggering everything is.

The hospital.

In the hospital a place where we allow no magazines, no TV, and we even go as far as removing triggering ads from the newspaper.

Honey…if you think this place is triggering wait until you get back into the REAL world. (that is what my inside voice says :) )

The real world will bombard you with everything from magazines telling us to and how to lose weight,
Mac computers telling us “You can’t be too Thin,” and obnoxious commercials like Subway who recently put out a lovely (NOT) commercial that is so inappropriate!

The commercial shows a man and woman in a car placing an order for food. He orders “blubber” and something and she orders “thunder thighs and badonkadonk” (ie: junk in the trunk. Not the trunk of the car…don’t worry I didn’t know what it meant either!)

And today after the Academy Awards the radios are flooded with talk of how everyone "looked." Many times the conversation is also about the stars weight!

Obviously these people have no idea the message they are sending and how it affects the millions of people struggling with ED’s.

Newsflash folks…the WORLD is triggering.
Everywhere you turn people are talking about food, the body, & dieting (you do know it is a 40 billion dollar industry…right?)

It is everywhere. Get used to it.

Now that you know that, what are you going to do about it?
You make a choice!
A choice to protect your recovery! A choice to learn how to cope with it. You make a choice to:

1. Not be triggering yourself by always talking about your body parts, calories, food/exercise.
2. You can take control by CHOOSING how you react! Yes...you can!

Although the world is triggering you have a choice what you put in your mind as well as how you react to triggering situations. Here are a few examples of things I have heard people say:

1. Commercials are triggering
Ok, then don’t watch them! I don’t watch commercials. In fact, I didn’t even know about the Subway ad, a patient told me about it. I have gotten in such the habit of not listening to commercials (even on the radio) that I automatically press the button off when they come on.

2. My family is always talking about dieting and/or food?
You can’t change them. So you have a choice, you can politely redirect the conversation…”how about the weather.” You can walk away when conversations get too Ed focused. Or you can listen and let it slide right through you…in one ear out the other.

3. Going to the health club makes me want to exercise more.
No one makes you exercise more. You have a choice. Choose a club that isn’t so body focused …like the YMCA. Go with a friend and tell them how you are feeling. And when you see someone who causes you to compare…say to yourself “Compare and despair!” Turn your head and focus on something else.

4. A good friend says things that really bother and “trigger” me.
I implore you…How will he/she know what is triggering if you don’t tell him/her? Ed likes secret keeping. So if you keep quiet and just brew inside…Ed will take that as an opportunity to grab a hold of you. Instead, gently tell your friend or family member what IS helpful and what is NOT helpful. Also remember that they are who they are…human. And it might take them a while to get it. Your job is to not blame…but take responsibility for how YOU react to it!

What I am saying, if you haven’t picked up on this yet…is be prepared LIFE IS TRIGGERING. But, You have the power and the ability to protect your recovery. You can LET something trigger you or you can let it roll of your back. You can also surround yourself with people and things that give you life! (that feed the banana-see earlier post on bananas). You will be so busy filling up on life, you won’t have time to focus on what is “triggering!”

Hope this helps!
Happy Living!
LWB

Comments

[Laura Collins]

Thank you. This is WONDERFUL.

[W]

You are so right! Thanks for the post and the information. It is so easy to get caught up in the world's negativity but we don't have to. So true!