Triggered

What triggered YOU?

In 2015, I experienced physical pain that triggered a button for me, to eat ice-cream; sabbotaging my healthy diet.  I had the expectation that my foot was healed, as I had nurtured and looked after my foot for 7wks.  I had exercised without pain, and thought to try mowing.  Only a few strips into mowing, I was in pain.  I felt betrayed by my own body.  No matter what I did, the pain remained.  It was frustrated as I had done so little and I had other things to do.  I felt anger….sadness.  If my body wasn’t going to do the right thing by me, why should I be looking after it.  Eating a chocolate icecream came to mind, so I bought one.  I didn’t slow the process down.  I let the trigger take over.

You may say, but it was only an ice-cream.  Yes it was, however it is more about being conscious, and while being triggered choosing the highest path in that moment.  If we allow our triggers to take over, we end up going where we don’t wish to go.  I ended up sabotaging my healthy diet.

What could I have done differently?  The physical pain triggered emotions, that I felt, but didn’t allow myself to acknowledge fully. It was beacause the physical pain triggered painful emotions and thoughts….memories.  In a moment, I chose to feel betrayed, rather then deal with it.  Instead of expressing my pain, I turned it inward.  What if?  Instead of turning inward, I allowed it to be ok, to express.

Emotional eating occurs because we don’t fulfil the real need…the emotional expression.

This was originally written by sharonmcl in 2015.  It still applies today, yet a different story around how pain triggers in 2021.  It is in human nature to wish to move away from pain, and find some pleasure.  Yet it can become a pain/pleasure circuit that can become hard to break, until you wake up!  Wake up!

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