Triggers
Riva
plopped into a seat and sighed. “Ice cream is such a trigger food for me. Yesterday, I had a good day at work and I was
happy. I came home and I was chilling in
front of the TV, when all of a sudden, Ben & Jerry’s was calling my name.”
She
leaned in, her tone emphatic. “Calling
my name.”
She
sighed in disgust, clearly feeling hopeless.
“Nothing was wrong. I wasn’t
upset or worried about anything. I just
have no willpower. I’m addicted to
Chunky Monkey.”
I
asked what she had been watching on TV.
Riva
lifted her shoulders, shrugging. “Just
an old rerun of Charmed. I love that
show.”
The
episode highlighted conflict between the sister characters. Riva began to recall the difficult
relationship she had with her own sister.
The episode had stirred up feelings of loss, betrayal, anger and sadness
about her relationship with her sisters.
However,
these feelings were so intense that Riva could not let herself be consciously
aware of them. She immediately turned to
ice cream for comfort. By getting angry
with herself for eating ice cream, she effectively repressed painful feelings
about her siblings.
Riva was triggered by
painful feelings about her sister, then turned to ice cream for comfort and
distraction. Sometimes what you might
think of as “trigger foods” may indicate the underlying conflict or emotion,
the true trigger. Which of these are
triggers for you?
Smooth foods such as ice
cream, pudding: (comfort)
Rejection, shame, betrayal,
fear, apprehension, suspicion, lack of trust
Filling foods such as
cake, muffins, bread: (filling a void)
Loneliness, loss,
deprivation, abandonment
Crunchy foods such as
chips, pretzels, apples: (anger)
Anger, fury, frustration,
annoyance, anxiety, guilt
Legal Disclaimer: The content on this site is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as psychotherapy or as a substitute for psychotherapy advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Comments and questions are welcome. Please share on Facebook and/or Twitter so more people can benefit from the information on this blog.
Legal Disclaimer: The content on this site is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as psychotherapy or as a substitute for psychotherapy advice, diagnosis or treatment.
20 comments:
Love this. Printing it out now and going to keep it in my purse. My issue is overeating to the point of being pretty much paralyzed, and this will definitely help get myself grounded and figure out what's really going on with the crazy cravings.
I tend to go more for comfort foods. There's definitely some fear and apprehension stuff going on. This is a great list.
I feel rejected so much by my last boyfriend. He left me for someone who in my opinion is prettier than me just because she's thinner. She seems more fun. Anyway...I feel so alone.
Here's one not listed above: I often get a craving for chocolate when I feel lonely. It's usually a way to compensate for not having any kind of physical intimacy or affection with someone for awhile.
This concept piques my interest. I myself don't even realize why I want to eat sometimes. It sometimes takes me hours later to understand what was really bothering me at the time I first chose to overeat.
That hurts. No one wants to feel like they're not good enough. I've been through this as well.
I'm adding this comment to address two other people at once because I've experienced some of the same issues.
Brenda, I often substitute chocolate for physical affection or intimacy for fear of being hurt and/or out of loneliness.
Karen, I also had occassions where I would eat/overeating compulsively. It might take me awhile to realize why I did it.
I agree, Julie. No one wants to feel like they don't measure up. Everyone has issues and everyone has faults, but no one wants to feel they are unworthy of love.
The above scenario is far too common for people. I might not even know at all why I crave a certain food-thinking it is just the power of suggestion from the TV. However, that certain food might remind me of a time when I felt more secure about myself or it was one that was present at a time when I had the company, friendship, relationship, etc. that I needed.
Even after losing weight and getting close to my ideal physical shape, I still have the same old cravings. I don't give in nearly as often as I used to, but it's interesting how the subconsious works. I still don't have all the answers regarding why I desire certain foods, and this post can help me explore those untapped issues.
This list explains to me why my cravings change. It depends on the kind of negative emotions I am feeling.
I think you said it right. It helps me understand more fully what's going on with me as well.
Usually the dairy foods such as cheese help calm me down when anxious. I don't like chips much.
I get the impression that trigger foods are associated with post-traumatic stress, which includes many of the feelings mentioned above.
I am amazed at what our subconscious processes without us realizing it. This post has enlightened me, and I agree with most of the comments people have made regarding this.
This sounds like me. I eat too many donuts and sweets.
This is something I didn't really connect to my own life until I read this blog. I myself became used to eating certain comfort foods and treats as a child, and I remember these were during some happy times in our family. However, for use it was mostly the candy and chocolate (which I guess also is in Chunky Monkey) but sometimes too many noodles and bread.
This really is more of an eye-opener than I ever imagined. It's amazing how are body responds to situations without even realizing it. That is, unless we are aware.
This does trigger some emotions in me. I realize now that family Problems kind of sneak up on us. Our subconscious mind deals with them in a way our conscious mind is unwilling or unable.
I never tried to categorize the different types of foods as ones that would be eaten to represent different emotions. This is new to me.
Post a Comment