If you’re trying to overcome an eating disorder, you may feel like triggers are everywhere. You know your eating disorder symptoms, but dealing with them seems daunting.
Women struggling with eating disorders and addiction don’t have to go through it alone. You’ll find solace in supportive communities and professional guidance to navigate these challenges.
Coping with your vulnerabilities is a huge step to recovery. You’ll survive your eating disorder and even conquer it with these 3 strategies.
Strategies to Cope With Your Triggers
What does it mean to “be triggered”? These are intense, uncomfortable feelings that lead to reactive behavior, such as the symptoms of an eating disorder.
One form of therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), uses behavior analysis to recognize what leads to certain behaviors. This technique allows you to track events that precipitate a behavior.
When you are in recovery, it’s essential to recognize the cues. Using these 3 strategies will lead you to conquer your disorder.
1. Identification
Identification is necessary to change behavior. The first step is identifying events, people, or situations that prompt negative emotions. By doing so, you can either avoid that specific cue or prepare yourself to handle it better.
Here are some of the common stimuli for those in eating disorder recovery:
● Weighing yourself
● Clothes shopping or grocery shopping
● Talking about diets, size, or food intake
● Being surrounded by food
● Boredom, loneliness, and stress
● Negative emotions, like low self-esteem, questioning your value, or self-criticism
Now that you can identify these reactions, it’s time to move to the next step. Having a strategy in place to interrupt the cycle is crucial for recovery.
2. Interruption
When you notice a setback behavior, it might feel automatic and out of your control. But that urge is just a reaction; you can wait before acting.
Take a deep breath and give yourself a moment. This space between the emotion (whatever made you want to act) and your disordered behavior is where you can make a different, better choice.
This interruption is often called “urge surfing.” It’s like riding a wave—the urge will feel strong, but it eventually passes. Waiting will feel uncomfortable, but surfing gives you time for those bad feelings to fade. It’s a way to control your impulses instead of letting them control you.
3. Alternatives
You might think eating disorder urges are too tempting to ignore. It may feel like you can’t say no. But that’s not true! You do have other choices, and you’re in control.
Swap those unhealthy reactions for something better that works. Here are a few ideas for alternative things to do instead of giving in to your urge:
● Hydrate: Sometimes, thirst masquerades as hunger. Grab a glass of water and sip it slowly. Dehydration can trick your body into wanting food, so this quick fix might be all you need. Your urge to eat can be fooled into thinking you gave it what it wanted.
● Engage Your Senses: Distract yourself with something that stimulates your senses. Play a song you love, chew sugar-free gum, doodle, or smell a calming essential oil.
● Do Some Gentle Movement: Go for a quick walk, stretch, or do some jumping jacks. Physical activity helps release endorphins, those feel-good chemicals that can combat cravings.
● Write It Down: Grab a pen and paper or open your journaling app. Write down your sensations, what prompted the urge, and any thoughts going through your head. Seeing your struggles written down can also make you feel less overwhelmed.
Using any of these interruptions means you had to take the time to do that step instead of grabbing a snack. You may find you don’t want that snack after all. These make for great interruptions and can also aid in mental healing.
You Can Overcome This Behavior
As seemingly uncontrollable as your disordered behavior and the triggers feel, you are and can be in control. You’ll find your inner strength when you start noticing the factors that set you off and avoid or overcome them, feeling more in control.
If your disorder is interfering with your health or recovery, reach out for support. It’s not a weakness to get help in dealing with an eating disorder. Recovery is possible, and you can go from victim to conqueror.
