Ask A Health Coach: How Can I Combat Any Unhealthy Triggers In Quarantine?

I write about this topic a lot in my book, The Stimulati Experience. Times of stress, like we are currently in, can be a major trigger for those behaviors we have tried so hard to change and the trauma we have worked so hard to overcome.

What are triggers and why do they snap us back into old negative behaviors? Triggers are external events or circumstances that may produce very uncomfortable emotional or psychiatric symptoms, such as anxiety, panic, discouragement, despair, or negative self-talk as they remind us of a past traumatic event stored in our subconscious mind. Some possible triggers are stress, lack of sleep, isolation, hunger, loneliness, uncertainty and rapid change. Basically, anything that may make us uncomfortable and actively snap us back into survival mode. The COVID-19 crisis is a perfect trigger storm creating a difficult time for those who have suffered with eating disorders as many of them may be emotionally based. I personally struggle with emotional eating and have to be extremely mindful with stress and triggers of guilt.