How do you avoid triggers?

JuneyJo

I'm a stress eater. I see myself doing it and it's like the switch gets flipped from caring to not caring and I just go for it. Then I wake up the next morning, feeling bloated and lousy and beat myself up emotionally for being so weak.

When my ex-husband pushed my buttons last night, I had seconds at dinner and then thirds... of pasta. Ugh! I didn't want to deal with him or his lame texts AND I didn't want to gripe about him in front of our kids. So eating seemed the most logical way to occupy my mind and my mouth. (I know, but stay with me.) While getting ready for bed, my 5yo daughter decided to act like a... well, like a 5yo girl... and pushed more buttons. Birthday candy? Yes, please, I'll have THREE peices!

So I woke up this morning, totally mad at myself because I know it's MY fault, not my ex's or my daughter's. I LET them push my buttons. I know this. Stress is a huge trigger - probably my worst. But some of the go-to solutions just don't work.

Go for a walk? I'd love to, but as a single mom during a bedtime meltdown, I can't just get up and go, leaving my young children alone. (Walking IN the condo... yeah, they follow me. It's cute when I'm not mad, but sends me through the roof when I'm already in meltdown mode.)
Self talk? I can ignore myself too easily.
Call/text a friend? I've tried. Sometimes they're too busy to respond when I need them OR they have bigger problems and tell me all about them in an effort to say "See - it could be worse." Then I feel neglected/whiney/unimportant and it gets worse. (I know, poor me, get the violins.)

My question is, in a round-about way, what do you do when you're faced with a trigger? When something makes you want to reach for junk food, too much food, or skip a workout, and you feel like you're stuck in a corner or a rut, what do you do? How do you keep from flipping the switch? What happens in your mind to keep you on task?