If You Are Still Triggered, Your Healing Modality Didn’t Work.
It’s come to my attention that many people have had issues with me grouping together hashtags such as #edrecovery and #weightlosstips.
Firstly, for those you who are so angered by this, I am so sorry for your pain and the suffering you have endured. Truly. I pray you get the healing, love and peace that you deserve.
Secondly, for those who are intrigued and wish to understand why I do this, let’s carry on.
3 reasons why I do what I do.
No good comes out of avoiding triggers. Having healed from my own eating disorder and body image issues, I can attest to this. So can other women I’ve been blessed to meet, who have walked a similar path. The woman who has been pivotal in my healing, @lianashanti has taught us that triggers are a gift. An invitation to dive deeper into what it is that’s got you so bothered by someone’s opinions or statements… or choice in hashtags.
Staying away from triggers only perpetuated my issues and did nothing to help me actually heal. Instead, it pushed me further into a comfortable cocoon of delusion. Triggers not only invite you to dig deep into the pain stored in your body and to release it once and for all… They also serve as a temperature check. In my case - if I couldn’t look at an IG model in a bikini without feeling like shit, or seeing their posts on what they eat in a day without wanting to copy them, then that told me I needed to dig deeper.People who get triggered by my hashtag choices must still be so self-absorbed and consumed by their self-hatred and pain, they forget there are people who are still in the dark about their body image issues and eating disorders, who are still out there searching for hashtags such as #weightlosstips #fatloss #bikinibodydiet, and so on.
I sure as hell was. And at that point, I was oblivious to my serious problems. Had someone planted the seed by using those hashtags together and triggering the algorithm for me to see their educational and informative posts… perhaps I would’ve stepped onto the path of healing much sooner.
But most people pussyfoot around and are focused on avoiding triggering others and babysitting other people’s emotions (this is a trauma response btw. Those of us who do/did this grew up in hostile environments). And for those of you who are still on the #edrecovery journey who are triggered by my hashtag use… that is a blessing in disguise. Why?
Because you have just done a temperature check on where you’re at in your journey, and you get to analyse if your current methods are working for you or not. Had you not been triggered and thrusted into the reptilian brain (your brain stem), your brain’s higher functioning centres would have been able to hypothesise my strategy. See my next point.I am a women’s health, wellness and fitness coach. I have walked this path myself. I also work with women (and men) who might not having eating disorders, but do suffer with body image issues and genuinely need to lose weight for their health and well-being. They have been caught up in the sea of IG workouts and calorie restriction diets, and I am trying to reach them too. I use my hashtags to cast a wide net. My hashtags might seem counterintuitive and ridiculous, but they are used strategically.
Because regardless of what you are struggling with, my message remains the same for those seeking:
I’m here. I see you. I’m ready to help you to love your body. This doesn’t just involve loving what you see in the mirror (and potentially tricking yourself into accepting health warnings under the guise of #bodyacceptance) but realising how amazing your body really is on a molecular level, and learning how to care for it right so you can enjoy it for as long as possible.
When I’m triggered by something or someone, I pause and look within. Because that is an issue that stems from within. Feelings of anger and disgust at abuse, cruelty and injustices in the world are healthy. Feelings of anger and disgust at someone’s hashtag use… is not 😂
Love,
Amya