Triggers

I am a huge pinterest fan. I recently realized that there is a LOT of "thinspiration" and fitness tips on the website. It always made me feel sort of uncomfortable to see images of super-thin girls, or close ups of abs. Then I realized DUH, I can unfollow those!

This was just a great reminder that triggers are everywhere, but if you keep an eye out for them, you can avoid being triggered. So the first thing to do is find out what are your triggers? What are the things that make you feel bad about yourself, or encourage you to restrict, purge, or binge?

I know common triggers are:
images of thin people
images of extremely overweight people
shows/commercials about weight loss
stories about eating disorders
talk about calories or food
trying on clothes
comparing with others
scales

For people who are newly in recovery, or are just starting their road to recovery... I would highly suggest avoiding triggering things. Don't watch America's Next Top Model if you know you'll be comparing your body to the girls on the show. Don't buy US Weekly if you know that you'll scan the images for thinspirational pictures. Put duct tape on food labels if you can't stand not looking at the serving size or calorie amounts.

It is OKAY to ask for help. You can tell people, "This topic makes me uncomfortable." You can ask people to poor a drink in a glass rather than give you the bottle so that you don't see the label.

When I got home from treatment, all scales in my house were gone. I knew that it would be too tempting for me to step on and then obsess about what the numbers were.

People in your life WANT to help. Eating disoders can make loved ones feel so helpless... getting rid of triggers can be a great way to get people involved in your recovery.
So go make a list of your triggers and share them with those people in your life!!