Friend, Foe, Or Trigger?
Today we’re talking about Triggers with a capital T. What are trigger foods, you might ask? They fall into two different categories: physical triggers, and mental/emotional triggers. A physical trigger food is one that quite literally triggers a physical response in your body– usually not a pleasant one. Eating cheese if you’re dairy intolerant, for example, would be a physical trigger. An interesting note about physical triggers, however, is this: your body gets to take the lead here, not your brain, which also means that sometimes we crave certain foods when our body is out of balance. Take stress: remember that stress prompts the body to need more glucose in order to “run from the lion?” Well, in stressful times, our body may start to crave fast-acting glucose to help us get the requirements it thinks we need. What’s the fastest acting glucose we can find? Sugar, of course! Ever noticed your sweet tooth comes out more when you’re stressed? What’s more, if you are chronically stressed, and you’re eating a high amount of sugar for a long period of time, you’re also promoting the growth of certain yeast bacteria in your gut. And guess what! The yeast bacteria ALSO prefers to eat sugar! Then, let’s imagine your stress does eventually regulate, but now your body is still craving sugar because your gut has more of those pesky yeast bacteria. Talk about feeding a vicious cycle, and it all started with a physical trigger.
On the flip side, a food can also be an emotional or mental trigger. There is no set list of foods that might trigger you mentally or emotionally, because they can be different for everyone, depending on things like upbringing, lifestyle, and emotional awareness. Emotional food triggers can also be “feel-good” or “feel-bad” triggers. Think birthday cake that makes you feel celebratory and “good”.
If your family always celebrated birthdays with a cake, then having a cake for celebratory purposes might be something you personally associate with a happy event. In this case, your idea of celebration “triggers you” to eat dessert.
Alternatively, you might have “feel-bad” triggers, and these are the ones people tend to complain the most about. One way that humans cope with unsavory life experiences is through food; it can provide comfort in sad moments, or if we feel bored or angry, we might grab a bag of chips, or scarf down slices of pizza. There is a very real physical reason for this too, by the way, because fat and sugar both impact the dopamine pathways in our brain, which makes us feel happy, even if it only lasts for a few moments.
The challenge with a trigger food of any kind is the cascade of emotions that come along with it. Often, if you’ve used food as an emotional coping mechanism, that experience might be followed by shame, guilt or remorse. In addition, sometimes we’ll even grab more chips, cookies, or pizza because we’re “already awful,” and “failing” at being healthy… have you ever done this?
The truth is, most of us have, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. The work is to reframe our relationship to these triggers so that they don’t hold quite so much influence over our decision-making and emotions.
Since week 1, perhaps you’ve already begun to gain insight into some of your subconscious belief systems around food. For many of us, these reflections are just the beginning of peeling back the onion and seeing the layers of beliefs that have built upon each other and accumulated over time. If you have identified a trigger food - congratulations on your mindful awareness! That’s a big first step on the road to gaining autonomy over it. The next step is to take a moment to reflect on when that trigger occurs. Is it when you are sad? Is it when you are in proximity to a particular person? Is it when you are stressed? Start to familiarize yourself with the surroundings of when the trigger happens. How do you feel in your body? In your heart? In your mind?
Now remember when we discussed stress, and the mechanics of how it impacts the body? This is the exact mechanism that occurs when we are triggered by a food. Trigger foods tend to make us feel out of control of our behavior and of our bodies, so how can we reclaim our control?
Understand what they are– physical or emotional.
Understand the parameters of your life when they occur (remember: sometimes it’s in moments of happiness and community, because not all triggers are related to unhappy or challenging emotions)
Recognize and acknowledge the emotion the trigger is satisfying. (are you stressed, and this food makes you feel more relaxed? Or when you’re sad, does it make you feel happier for a little bit?).
Affirm to yourself that it’s OK that you’ve used this trigger food to satisfy this emotion. No shame, no gain! Yay, you!
Thank your trigger food for the information and lesson it has provided you.
Create a time and space to test this trigger food with people in your life, and in an environment that feels supportive for you.
Give yourself permission to eat it. Then take a deep breath, sit down, and stay mindful with your food as you eat.
Allow your trusted loved one to help you regulate in the beginning.
Take it slow. And if you still feel triggered, put it away for now, and revisit another time. Remember, cultivating safety and autonomy over a food is important.
Retest under safe circumstances, and repeat as needed until you feel a sense of confidence around your ability to control any emotions that might have come up for you before.
Today’s Activity:
Pick a food that you deem is “bad” for you, or is a trigger food.
Write all the reasons that you love it. What emotional center has it helped to fulfill in your life? What type of comfort has it provided?
Can you invite it into your life as a welcomed guest rather than a demonized enemy? (You may be surprised at how this seemingly simple mind shift can make you feel more in control of the relationship, by the way!)
