Know Thy Self

Know Thy Self

Lesson here is, we are all human and we all have our weaknesses. Trick is to know your weakness and develop strategies for coping with them. How well do you know yourself? That is, do you know what cues/triggers tend to set you off? Have you examined that issue for yourself? It’s essential to recognized the cues that sabotage your efforts. We all have them. Find yours and take steps to avoid them where possible.

For example, try making a list outlining the things you know tend to set you off and how you react to the, then add a column for how you could deal with it. For example you might write "talking to my crazy mother makes me anxious and I eat things I shouldn’t immediately after the phone conversation" which would be followed by a suggestion of steps to change it, such as "always eat a meal right before talking to mom" and "only take calls from mom when I am ready and able to deal with her" and "go for a walk immediately after talking to mom to distress and give me time to get over impulse to eat junk" and so on.

Develop coping strategies to your known triggers. I know for example going food shopping on an empty stomach means I will most probably end up with a large box of Cheez-its in my house. I have also found if I go shopping irritated over something I will buy more foods I don’t need as food is one of many ways we self medicate looking for some comfort. Hence the term “comfort foods,” which is commonly chocolate, ice cream, and so on.

Bottom line:

Learn what your hot buttons are that lead to a negative behavior

Learn to identify when it’s happening

Develop strategies for coping with it.

How do you go about doing that? As entire books have been written on that topic, my advice will fall short here. That journey is also highly individual. For some its working with a therapist or behavioral specialist, for some its reading a few good self-help type books, and for some its activities such as meditation, joining support groups, and others. Its also a life long journey.