Note to self:

Emotional triggers …

By Bernadette Kathryn, LMT, IHLC

If you don’t think your anxiety, depression, sadness and

stress impact your physical health, think again.

All of these emotions trigger chemical reactions in your body,

which can lead to inflammation and a weakened immune system. 

~ Kris Carr

Emotional triggers

Emotional triggers … what happens to you and your body when you are feeling anxiety or depression? Maybe you begin to feel sick in your stomach or do you get a headache? Or you become really hungry, craving salty or sweet foods when you are sad? Do you reach for a glass of wine or a cocktail when you have had a particularly stressful day at the office? You soothe yourself with a night on the sofa, good movie and a big bowl of popcorn?

Self-soothing

We all have ways we like to soothe ourselves when we are feeling sad, tired, depressed or anxious. We may revert back to our childhood favorites like my mom used to make fudge, cherry cheesecake, and cookies when I wasn’t feeling so good. She would lovingly offer me some goodies to help mend my aching heart while she talked to me and helped me reason my way through the sadness. I stress the word “lovingly” offer me some goodies ~ she instinctively knew that a little goodie was a quick way of lifting my spirit, changing my mindset and creating an opening for a different conversation. It was not her intention to create a habit of self-soothing with ‘goodies’ and yet that is often what actually happens.

Fuel to the fire

When we find ourselves in the middle of some heartbreak, stress or fear we will revert to a familiar behavior that was established long ago. This old pattern was once beneficial and now maybe more destructive than actually soothing. It may be a temporary fix of our broken heart while at the same time causing a backlash of undesired results like weight gain and ill health. Emotional triggers can be very destructive by themselves and be adding to the negative effects of sugar, salt and fat to the equation are like adding fuel to the fire.

Journal, meditate, exercise

It is in my best interest to find and establish constructive ways of supporting my Living Fit Lifestyle. I can journal, meditate, exercise, eat healthy, sleep well and connect with my community of great friends for support. The more I focus on taking good care of myself, the easier I will transition out of my anxiety and into the next step without complicating the process. Healing from anxiety, depression, and sadness is a complex process with many phases of up and down, I really don’t need to make it any harder by assaulting my physical being with sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats.