I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I'd like to hear, what are your binge triggers?
I just now realized one of mine I didn't know before, as I was feeling like I wanted to binge and asked myself what was making me uncomfortable that I needed to binge about it: being too cold!
My others: having a long period of free time, anxiety over upcoming social events, thinking about tasks I have to do, feeling fat or bloated, feeling too thin and "empty" from not having enough to eat or drink, feeling like I didn't get enough sleep
As I try to stop binging, I feel like it's important to recognize what things are triggering the urges in the first place, so that I can recognize rationally where that urge is coming from and then try and think of better ways to deal with my bad feelings than just binging to block them out for a while!
I completely agree with the idea of blocking things out of your life for awhile if you know they are only going to trigger a binge. I actually just wrote an article about knowing what your trigger foods are and avoiding them at all costs.
Like glazed doughnuts for me. I know that if I just start with one, I will want to binge on them. So I just keep away from them. I probably will continue to steer clear of them for years, if not forever, since I know that I've had a poor relationship with them in the past.It's really hard to get a good relationship with certiain foods once things have been bad (kinda like with an Ex).
The number one thing that can trigger a binge for me is my family. I love them, but they drive me crazy. I push down any negative feelings and always try to act like I'm a wonderful person--sweet, agreeable and nice. Then I want to binge when I'm alone. I know it would be better to just argue or disagree with them, to tell them what I really think, but I can't seem to give up this pattern that I established when I was a child.
Cold, yes! It's so silly, but being cold (I was often cold, even before losing weight) is such a logical trigger for eating in general... and I guess it's also logical that it can easily become a trigger for someone who's already prone to bingeing.
Boredom, more specifically the kind of idleness that makes me feel 'empty'. Looks like food is a means of filling up.
Procrastination. I've had to rewire myself completely regarding that one. Whenever I have something unpleasant to do, or something that makes me feel overwhelmed, I have that crazy underlying reaction of "I'm busy eating, that's why I can only tackle [random chore] later on." Now I've learnt to procrastinate properly and openly: "I don't feel like working, so let's pick a book and enjoy a healthy leisure activity instead of stupidly bingeing." (Not very mature either, I agree, but at least I binge much less.)
Oddly enough, some of my triggers have also disappeared. Work-related stress (and there's *a lot* for teachers, really!) would send me bingeing, but now I've sort of... lost interest? I come home thinking, out of habit, "I'm feeling angry and depressed, so I deserve to indulge in [X food]"... and the next second, I'm all "yeah, right, what's the point, it's not even interesting!" And indeed it isn't, and I don't do it. If I had thought one day I'd be like that... o_O
Everything it seems. Boredom, being lonely, sadness, being worried, cold, and being tired pop out right off the bat as triggers for me. I have been binge free since October 3rd though so I am trying to learn to cope with triggers as they come.
For me there are a lot of different triggers. One of my biggest is having a day off from work though when I have a period of free time, just like you. I actually used to look forward to the weekend so much when I could sit down in peace and just eat for a few hours.
Another is feeling fat, it sort of makes me think 'may as well go for it now, I'm already huge'. I also binge when I'm feeling 'empty' like you - if I get very hungry I feel like I need to fill that space with food.
Basically every extreme emotion triggers my binging as well - if I'm very happy I want to celebrate with a binge, if I'm angry/sad I want to console myself. I've not binged in 2 days and, honestly, I have no desire to at the moment. I'm just hoping my lucidity with how binging is ruining my life stays with me forever now.
Binge triggers
