Friday, February 18, 2011

Trigger

We all have triggers. Mine, I think, is loneliness. It's also stress and perfection. I think, as women, we feel a lot of this on our shoulders. I've realized one of the best things I can do to heal myself is to realize when I'm wounded and how to dress the wound. 

It seems my way of coping is to ignore the wound and stuff the stomach. Or create new wounds that take focus off old wounds. Or not understand myself enough to see what wounds me. Or not feel worthy or deserving of asking for help from others.

Lately, when I get triggered, I've been trying to call people. The problem is, I only have about three friends that I call. And if they don't answer--which 99% of the time they don't because they are busy--then I go on and comfort or treat my trigger via old methods that I like. Usually a binge and a purge. Or just a binge.

So, since this is a the year of health, I have to be aware enough to see the triggers for what they are, not ignore them, and come up with solid plans that will work to help me avoid the coping mechanisms I currently employ. This could be a slow process. But such a worthy one. The path to healing begins when you take the brain that you've created and you change it's habits to better ones. We can all do it. Repetition is key. Support is key. And not giving up is key.

So, the next time I have a trigger. I've decided that I need to react differently. I'd love some ideas of WHAT you do when you feel triggered?

1 comment:

Lori said...

Something that I've been trying to do is just to breathe through it...to feel the feelings and to just breathe...and then to do something for myself like walk or read something that will encourage me or call a friend...my tendancy is to run from them...if I could I would likely be drawn to use sleep which isn't really a good thing either...eating or drinking an alcoholic beverage are what I try to steer away from...the hardest thing to do is to remain still, allow myself to feel and just breathe through these moments...and then to cry if that is needed...there are day's I fail miserably at this and others I do well...since I have declared 2011 as my year to embrace, I am becoming more aware of things I am feeling and the things I do in order to not feel or to cope with whatever is going on.