Trigger Repellant: How to cope with triggers during recovery.

trig·ger

 [trig-er]

noun

anything, as an act or event, that serves as a stimulus and initiates or precipitates a reaction or series of reactions.

In a society where weight loss, low-fat diets, and exercise dominate the media, it is safe to say that triggers are unavoidable in eating disorder recovery. Whether it is an ad on television, a comment made towards you, or maybe even a picture in a magazine, it is likely that something along these lines has put a strain on your recovery at one time or another. 

I wish I could tell you I have the solution to eliminate all diet and weight loss talk form your life forever. Believe me-- if I did, I would bottle it up and send you each an aerosol can labeled "trigger repellant." 




Okay, so maybe that isn't going to happen any time soon. I will work on that. For now, I can offer you a few tips that have helped me move past the many triggers we all come across during recovery. 

• Magazines that promote dieting, mention weight loss, or show images of supposedly "thinner" people. Let's face it-- Seventeen Magazine, People, Star-- are all basic necessities of a woman's life. Okay, so maybe they're not the best thing for us, but they do provide a fair amount of entertainment in waiting rooms and while traveling. Unfortunately, it is uncommon to come across a tabloid magazine that doesn't contain an article or ad promoting diets or someone's "incredible" weight loss journey. The most obvious solution to avoid this is to stop reading magazines. Invest your time into a good book instead. It will probably be more worth your time, anyways. ;) If you happen to be a tabloid junkie, however, that is okay too. If something triggering happens to pop up as you're flipping through pages, simply rip the page out and throw it away. The page will be gone for good, and it will give you an empowering feeling after. 

• "You look so much better!" These five words can be detrimental in one's recovery. During the gaining process, it is common for friends family members to begin to notice changes in your body. This could be weight gain, or even the returning signs of life in our eyes once again. Obviously to a non-eating-disordered person, this would be a lovely compliment. Often, though, that pesky little voice in our heads decides to twist those "compliments" into phrases more along the lines of "you've gained so much weight!" or, "You are so weak now." The people around us more than likely have never had an eating disorder before, and therefore do not understand the uncontrollable thoughts constantly going through our heads. If a close friend or family member makes a similar comment towards you, it is okay to take them aside and explain that it is not easy for you to process those words in a positive way. Simply tell them that you are not comfortable having people make comments about your appearance. If you are not close enough to this person to do this, try your best to take a step back, breathe, and realize that they truly mean what they said in the most loving way possible. They are overjoyed to see you getting your life back, and you should be too. 

• Numbers. Calories, weight, BMI, pounds lost, fat content-- numbers are everywhere both in the depths of an eating disorder and during recovery. My first word of advice to you is to delete any app on your phone that either a) counts calories b) is geared towards tracking weight loss c) calculates BMI d) reviews the "health content" of a food e) anything else I many have missed that will make your eating disorder happy. This next piece of advice may sound a bit odd a first, but I promise you it is for the best: Limit the amount of time you spend at the grocery store. Often times, we get caught up looking at the nutrition facts of different brands of foods in an attempt to find the "lowest calorie" or "low carb" option, etc. Before we know it, hours have passed and the shopping cart is still practically empty. This has happened to me on several occasions. Make a list beforehand so you are prepared, and limit your time by setting a timer on your phone, or go before work or an event so that you must leave at a certain time to avoid being late. Lastly, stop weighing yourself. I repeat-- DITCH THE SCALE. Make your mom hide it, throw it away, beat it with a hammer, anything. I have not had a scale in my house since August of 2013. While I often wonder what my weight is, I know that it is irrelevant to my happiness. Numbers have no control over you. Plus, who wants to spend their life constantly doing math in their head? Not me. 

These are only a few of the triggers that we often stumble upon during recovery, but I have found them to be some of the most common. It is not always possible to avoid your triggers, but please remember that it is possible to cope with them. Don't let a single comment or image send you into a relapse, or even let it ruin your day. Think of all the things you will get from recovery: freedom, happiness, relationships, ice cream, and so much more. (especially ice cream, though).