Don't Pull The "Trigger"

Whether noun or verb, there are two meanings for the word trigger that are very important to note.
1) noun: an act that sets in motion some course of events
2) verb: put in motion or move to act; "trigger a reaction"; "actuate the circuits"

For a food addict, the "trigger" can be one of several things. It could be any particular food that, once eaten, causes us to binge or to over eat. For some people, these trigger foods can be sugar, bread, flour, wheat, pasta, chocolate, and even cheese! It's important to pay attention to what your particular trigger foods are. What may be a trigger for you, may not be for me. Once you determine what your trigger food is, it is important to avoid it at all costs. Once you indulge, you can be assured it will be hard to disengage that trigger! Replace the desire for those foods with exercise. A simple walk when you feel tempted will give you the same "high" as that bag of Doritos, only there won't be any regrets later!

Another common trigger for food addicts are our emotions. Certain emotions cause us to run to the cabinet! There are those who eat for comfort & solace when they are sad, depressed or stressed, then there are those who eat "celebratorily"...whenever there is cause to celebrate you can find them eating over zealously. To keep this trigger disengaged, we have to learn how to respond to our emotions in an entirely different way, completely unattached to food. Replace it with meditation, which will keep you in control of your emotions & "allow" you to feel.

The trigger that we often overlook is the trigger of a specific place. For instance, I want to eat every time I go to my mother's house. I feel very relaxed there & I have learned to identify that relaxation with food, as my mom was always offering it to me when I was a kid whenever I came home and again as an adult whenever I went to visit her. Like the alcoholic going into a bar, certain places that are identified in our minds with food should be places we try to avoid. I choose to have my mom at my house more than I go to hers and IF I go to her house, I have to let my mom know that I am watching what I eat so I make myself accountable (she doesn't like when I over eat). I also bring in something to drink, usually orange juice, to keep myself in check. There have been many times that I'd wait until she went to the bathroom & then I would raid her cabinets (a little from each item so she wouldn't notice).

Triggers are clever little vices, and they can set off a domino effect. We eat, we feel guilty, we feel like a failure, we beat ourselves up & more times than not we stop fighting & give in. The ideal way to combat this is NOT to pull the trigger in the first place! If a man pulls the trigger of a gun & aims at something, chances are he's gonna hit his target, unless he's a really bad shot. When we "pull" our triggers, chances are we're gonna get hit as well, as we are a lot more proficient. Getting to the point in which you no longer are affected by these triggers takes time & discipline, so don't beat yourself up. Baby steps will get you where you need to go...you can't walk until you crawl...so for now, identify your triggers & then come up with alternative solutions in how to deal with each one. In time your triggers may be gone, and even if they never go away completely, you will be able to master them! Heed the words in Genesis 4:7; " If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

God bless you as you seek to disengage your triggers!