On Triggers.

If you are not studying addiction, or have never suffered from addiction yourself, you may not know about "triggers." Triggers, in my own words, are certain situations, people, or places that make you, for whatever reason, want to be active in your addiction. For example, a certain place may remind you of a time when you were once really struggling with your addiction, and so if you ever re-visit that place, you may find yourself with the overwhelming urge to go back to your illness, or to use your addictive behaviors.

In treatment for addiction, you address your triggers and understand exactly what they are. You aim to learn how to healthfully deal with these triggers when you come across them, which you are bound to do in your life. For me, there were definitely certain people and situations that were triggering to my illness when I was suffering. In my recovery, I learned to healthfully process these situations when I came across them and how to cope with them in a positive way rather than starving myself.

Often, triggers for those suffering from Eating Disorders may include people who are often talking about or trying to diet, people who seem to also be trying to lose a bunch of weight and are trying to compete with them, people who have criticized you in some way or threatened your self-esteem, and others. Situations that may be commonly be triggering for someone suffering with an ED may be events where they feel they will need to look their best, certain social situations, or difficult emotional situations. The ways in which one who has an ED copes with these situations is usually to numb themselves of any feeling whatsoever, which they acheive through using their ED behaviors (i.e. starving for Anorexics, purging for Bulimics, binging for over-eaters, etc).

That all said, it is very important for anyone recovering or trying to recover from an ED to identify what your triggers are. Make a list of these triggers and write about them each specifically. Write about why they trigger you, when they come up, how they make you feel, and what ways that you do cope with them currently. Then, write about how you could healthfully cope with these situations. Talking to a good friend or family member could be a positive coping skill, for example. Journaling is another very good coping skill. You just need to find what works for you.

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ED.