Being triggered is a part of the human experience. The word trigger gets thrown around a lot in everyday conversation, but the true idea of triggers comes from the world of trauma. If you are recovering from any form of mental distress, such as anxiety, grief, depression, or trauma, you will be faced with being triggered. Therefore, it’s important to understand what triggers are and why you need to manage them.
What are Triggers?
A trigger is a kind of connection between something that happens in the present that reminds you (either consciously or sub-consciously) of the trauma you have experienced in the past. You may hear a phrase or be in a specific situation and suddenly you are brought back in time. Triggers often elicit a strong emotional response. They are also connected to your thoughts, actions, and how your body responds. Our response to triggers often happen so quickly, we may not realize exactly what happened until our emotional intensity calms down.
Why You Need to Manage Triggers
Because triggers are connected to the past and bring a strong emotional response, our brains are working from the mid (emotional or limbic) and lower (survival or repltilian) areas, rather than the top (thinking or prefrontal cortex) area. This is why when triggered we often have a sense of not being able to think clearly, being confused or foggy, and sometimes not even being able to put words together. I like to say we’re not in our rational brain.
But this is NORMAL. It is not a character flaw, or your fault, or something that needs to be fixed. It is how the brain works. Read those last two sentences again…and again.
How Do You Know if You’re Triggered
You will know you are triggered when you feel a strong emotional response to something. It is not uncommon to not know why you have this reaction, and/or to feel like you have reverted to feeling like a child. While the strong emotions can be intense, they may also be on the opposite side of the spectrum and be experienced as a lack of emotion.
Low Intensity Reactions
- Apathy, unfeeling, not caring
- Blank, frozen, can’t think
- Empty, nothingness, disconnected
High Intensity Reactions
- Anger, rage, frustration
- Sadness
- Anxiety, fear, overwhelm
Trigger responses can:
- Seem like they come out of nowhere
- Feel uncharacteristic of how we would typically respond
- Be more overwhelming or underwhelming than we expect
- Lead us to feeling like a small child or like we have no control
As you navigate your healing journey, it’s not a matter of IF you will be triggered, but rather WHEN. It is not uncommon in the early stages of healing – as well as specific points in your journey – to feel overwhelmed and triggered very easily. It can be difficult to pinpoint what the triggers are. Start to notice when you feel triggered. This will give you signs of what your triggers are. Once you are calmer, look back and think of what led to you feeling triggered.
In upcoming articles, we’ll explore in more depth the 4 Types of Triggers (with examples), 4 Types of Trauma Responses associated with triggers, and Ways to Manage Your Triggers.
If you are struggling to identify or manage your triggers, I’d be happy to provide a consult to see how I might be able to help. You can book that here. For those living in Arizona, I offer individual and group counseling. For those living anywhere, I provide educational, supportive, and experiential wellness services.
If you are struggling with the long-term effects of being raised by a narcissistic parent, check out our upcoming class (open to adults anywhere) and recovery group (open to women in Arizona).
