Who Pulled The Trigger? Do You Know Your Triggers?
What is a trigger and why do they happen?
A trigger in psychology is a stimulus such as a smell, sound, or sight that triggers feelings of trauma. People typically use this term when describing posttraumatic stress (PTSD).
*****Emotional triggers are people, words, opinions, situations, or environmental situations that provoke an intense and excessive emotional reaction within us. Common emotions that we experience while being triggered include anger, rage, sadness, and fear.
A trigger is something that sets off a memory tape or flashback transporting the person back to the event of her/his original trauma.
Triggers are very personal; different things trigger different people.
The survivor may begin to avoid situations and stimuli that she/he thinks triggered the flashback. She/he will react to this flashback, trigger with an emotional intensity similar to that at the time of the trauma. A person’s triggers are activated through one or more of the five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.
The senses identified as being the most common to trigger someone are sight and sound, followed by touch and smell, and taste close behind. A combination of the senses is identified as well, especially in situations that strongly resemble the original trauma. Although triggers are varied and diverse, there are often common themes.
THE REALITY…
So, there you have it, the clinical description of a trigger induced by trauma, abuse, combat, neglect and death. Now let’s dig deeper and get into the reality of this horrific experience.
Think back to a time in your own life when something may have sparked deep feelings of anger, sadness, fear or despair. Once you grasp onto that moment truly think about it. What do you feel? Can you visualize yourself there? What thoughts are coming into your mind?
Are you seeing a picture show running through your head, or hear the voices of the past ringing in your ear? Maybe the smell of something that was very profound at that time frame comes forward, and you get a whiff of disaster.
This is the reality of a “trigger”. When this series of events come into play as you have connected with a view of the past flying across your radar. The emotions begin to mount up, and the feelings begin to escalate in a more intense sensation. Your breathing starts to change and the look in your eyes are connecting to something that is not there - It is in the past, but you see it clear as day. The sounds become louder and the smell of your surroundings become more and more prevalent.
BAMMMMM ---- THE PAST – THE TRAUMA --- THE TRIGGER
From this moment forward you are in fight and flight mode. You are fighting two worlds at once and nothing feels normal. You are thrust into the world of the unknown with a raw familiarity. As the feelings become more intense and your vision is blurred you are immediately frozen in time trying to grasp for a way out.
Your emotions in this exact moment are so heavy, so dark you cannot think. As you try to fight off those emotions, they seem to come at you even harder, more intense with a vengeance. They are not giving up as they continue to pounce upon you like a raging storm. The wave keeps on crashing harder and harder until you are completely lost in the storm drowning. You cannot see anything but the trauma.
This is PTSD at its worst and I can write about this in such a way because I have lived through it. What I have described is exactly how I felt during times of triggers, flashbacks and nightmares. The images are so profound and real in the moment.
I can best describe it as “Living in two worlds at one time”.
The best advice I can give to someone who is going through this is to seek help and support. Finding a therapist that you feel safe and comfortable connecting with, will go a long way in your healing journey. The work will be hard and painful, but worth every moment. Freedom is the ultimate goal. Being free from the weight of the past.
As you find that courage to dig deep into your personal pile of rubble, you will slowly weed through it all, and you will see your triggers clear as day. I always suggest writing them down. This is what I did, and it helped me put a meaning to the trigger.
Once your find the culprit and meaning you can finally take that next step towards your goal and that is what I call “Taming the Beast”. YES, PTSD is a beast and all that darkness needs to be contained.
It took me a very long time, years as a matter of fact to tame the beast inside of my soul that continued to pounce. I took it in stages, very small stages. I broke it down piece by piece. I learned how to look at it, and fought hard not to run away from it. The more I pushed, it pushed back, but I was determined to win this battle. I wanted to claim my spot as a “Life Warrior”. Never giving up and never giving in.
I can say proudly that I have won my battle, and for the most part the beast remains silent, but there are still those certain moments when it knocks at my door. I still deal with certain triggers that I believe will never fully go away, but the difference is now that I understand them, I greet them at the door. I fiercely look them in the eye and remind myself “I am safe” and “I have already won”.
I do embrace the darkness for a moment, and then put it back in its place. As I call it, “Laying it to rest”. Along the way I have also learned how to be kind to myself, and know my limits. Because of my past abuse I cannot be in total darkness, it terrifies me, and I still get those distorted images in front of my face. I used to think this was a weakness and I would emotionally beat myself up over it, but now I know better. So, I sleep with my salt lamp next to my bed at night, and I feel safe.
Instead of working against my triggers, I now work with them. It is a practiced skill just like every thing else in life. The more that we know about “ourselves” the stronger we will be.
The healing journey is different for everyone. The path towards freedom is unique and special. If you take away anything from this article; I hope you can take away the thoughts of kindness. Be kind to yourself! Take the time to really know “you”.
Once you commit to healing, stick with it even when the road becomes extremely difficult, because when you make it to the other side you will look back and give the past a smile and a wink. That is the moment when you get to say out loud
I TAMED THE BEAST!!
Embrace the Journey,
God Bless
Lisa Zarcone
Author – Child & Mental Health Advocate – Public Speaker – Blogger – Inspirationalist
The Unspoken Truth A Memoir - A child’s story – An adult’s journey towards healing
