Triggers... please don't pull.

A trigger is a stimulus or stressor that leads to a reaction of your emotional state. When you become triggered, the amygdala—responsible for emotions and instincts is activated and your frontal lobe becomes less active, which is the part of the brain responsible for decision making. It is important to understand that triggers are physical and psychological, and not just a buzz word floating around in mental health settings. Triggers are real and can be detrimental to your daily life if not dealt with. They can look different from person to person, depending on what happened in the past and how it affected the individual. Triggers can also cause flashbacks, taking over the hippocampus—where memories are stored, bringing you right back to the past as if the event is still happening. This can be scary.

Slamming of a door isn’t something you’d think of as traumatic or serious, maybe annoying, or rude. If you have teenagers, it might just be a daily ritual. But, if you grew up in a chaotic home, with parents arguing all the time, the last thing you heard before falling asleep was their bedroom door slam shut and then silence. The morning after those fights, no one is talking, and mom has bruises. After this happening for years as a child, the door being slammed shut imprinted on your brain as a traumatic memory. When you move in together with your fiancé, any time he slams the door accidentally, you become triggered without even knowing and isolate from him—survival kicks in. This is an example of an external trigger which also includes sights, smells, sounds, taste. An internal trigger is a feeling based on a past negative experience like getting anxiety before going to the dentist (this was me). Trauma triggers are strong emotions based on a past traumatic experience, like the anniversary of someone’s death or seeing a past abuser. Lastly, symptom triggers occurs when a symptom, like being tired or stressed causes a bigger mental health issue. Although most of the time, individuals don’t even know they are being triggered, it is still affecting them. The good news is that there is hope for dealing with your triggers. If you feel that you have some triggers, I have some pointers for you…

Identify them: pay attention to your behaviors (when they happen, where, with whom) and check them for consistency. Your behaviors will lead you to naming your triggers when you pay close attention.

Accept them: it may hurt, but accepting the past and the reason why you have these triggers will allow you to move onto addressing them. We can’t fix the problem without understanding how it happened.

Make a plan: next time this trigger happens, what will you do?

Problem focused coping: after confronting your stressor, you will eliminate it. Example: if a triggering person walks into the room at a party, you will excuse yourself and leave. This is also avoidance. You can avoid your triggers as long as you need to, but remember, it will continue to happen when you can’t avoid it any longer.

Emotion focused coping: if the trigger cannot be avoided or fixed, find ways that will help you cope with the stressor like breathing, praying, EFT tapping, body scan. The more work you do on a trigger, the easier it will become to deal with it.

Communication: if someone is triggering you, tell them. Stay calm, and assertively tell them what you’re feeling and that you need some time or space.

Fact check yourself: is this situation what it is, or what I think it is? These two are very different. Your brain will tell you that you’re unsafe when the trigger happens. Tell it otherwise.

Self-care: you will be more susceptible to a trigger when you are tired, hungry, or stressed. Take care of yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually—especially if you know you’re going to be faced with some triggers (like a family event or violent movie)

Find help: call your therapist, pastor, or a safe friend. Talking about your triggers will be helpful in naming them and dealing with them.

Thank you for taking your time to read my blog. All the information I shared, is research based. Check back for the next blog in September about addiction.

Pam