
So, what's the deal with being triggered?
Being "triggered" refers to experiencing a strong emotional reaction in response to a specific stimulus or event. The triggering ‘thing’ often doesn’t warrant the sometimes overwhelming response it gets; our response to a triggering event can seem disproportionate to the situation at hand. Our triggers are deeply personal—what sets us off might not affect someone else in the same way. This is because our triggers are shaped by our unique life experiences. More times than not, the immediate situation (the trigger) is not the real issue, the issue is that this particular stimulus or event taps into a painful stored memory that is often traced back to our childhood. Triggers can be linked to past traumatic event(s) or a deeply ingrained belief. When we are triggered, we might experience a range of emotions including anger, fear, sadness, or anxiety. The concept of being triggered highlights the connection between past experiences and present reactions, reminding us how much our lived experiences shape our emotional lives.
Ever wondered what happens in our bodies when we're triggered?
Here are the nuts and bolts:
Sensing the trigger: First, something happens that our brain recognizes as a threat or an emotional trigger—maybe someone says something hurtful or you see something alarming. This information is picked up by our senses (like sight or sound) and sent to our brain.
Amygdala Response: The amygdala, a small part of our brain that handles emotions and fear, reacts immediately. It's like our brain’s alarm system, and it quickly decides whether this situation is dangerous or stressful based on our past experiences or stored memories. If the trigger reminds the amygdala of a past event that was scary, harmful, or stressful, it sends out an alert to prepare the body.
Stress Hormone Release: The amygdala tells the hypothalamus to activate your body’s "fight or flight" response. This message tells our adrenal glands (located on top of your kidneys) to release stress hormones, mainly adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones prepare our body to react quickly. This all happens before we even have consciously thought about what triggered us.
Physical Reactions: Adrenaline makes our heart beat faster, our breathing quicken, and our muscles tense up. Cortisol helps keep our body on high alert, making it easier to react quickly to whatever is causing the stress. Blood flow is redirected to muscles, and less energy is spent on non-essential functions like digestion.
Conscious Thought: Meanwhile, the neocortex (the thinking part of our brain) is trying to catch up. It takes a little longer to process what’s happening and try to make sense of the situation. It helps us decide how we want to respond—whether we’re going to stay calm or act on our emotions.
Emotional Response: Depending on how our brain interprets intensity of the trigger, emotions like anger, fear, anxiety, or sadness are felt. These emotions can drive our behaviour, like shouting, shutting down, or trying to calm ourselves.
Aftermath: Once the threat or trigger passes, our brain tells our body to calm down. The parasympathetic nervous system helps slow our heart rate, relax our muscles, and bring our body back to its normal state. Now that we are fully back into our thinking brain, we may start to feel frustrated or embarrassed by our emotional reaction.
So, when we're triggered, it’s a quick chain reaction that starts with sensing the threat, responding emotionally and physically, and then your thinking brain catches up and eventually processes it all.
Where do emotional triggers come from?
Emotional triggers often originate from past life experiences and can be influenced by various factors, including unmet needs, deeply held beliefs or specific traumas. These triggers are typically rooted in personal experiences that have left a lasting impact on our emotional landscape.
Our triggers often stem from common challenges we face while growing up: feeling unappreciated by a parent, being excluded as the youngest sibling, struggling in school, facing peer rejection, or dealing with an emotionally distant parent. For some, these triggers are rooted in more significant traumas, such as the loss of a loved one, a divorce, a serious accident, family alcoholism, emotional or physical abuse, or the effects of oppression experienced by marginalized communities.
No matter what the origin of our trigger is, the event or memory has wounded us deeply. In therapy we call this a core wound. It is deeply rooted, extremely sensitive and very painful. Our bodies and minds go to great lengths to ensure we aren’t hurt like that again. When we are triggered our brain identifies the trigger as similar to the core wound; it perceives danger and it activates the fight-or-flight response to protect us.
Here are some examples of triggers?
Triggers can be external, such as specific words, sounds, or situations, or internal, such as thoughts or memories.
Common triggers include:
Sensory Inputs: Specific smells, sounds, or sights that are associated with past experiences.
Situational Cues: Certain environments or situations that resemble past events.
Behavioural Patterns: Actions or behaviours from others that mirror past traumas or conflicts.
Emotional States: Internal emotional states that resonate with past experiences, such as feeling overwhelmed, rejected, or unheard.
Understanding triggers involves recognizing the specific stimuli that cause these intense reactions and how they relate to our personal history and emotional state.
What can we do about getting triggered?
Triggers happen so fast that our thinking brain can't step in before the amygdala takes over and activates the fight-or-flight response. We don’t choose to be triggered, but we can choose how we want to react to the trigger. Managing and addressing emotional triggers requires a combination of self-awareness, coping strategies, and in some cases, professional support. Here are some approaches to dealing with triggers:
Increase you self-Awareness and reflection
The first step in managing triggers is developing self-awareness. This involves cultivating a non-judgemental curiosity about ourselves. We need to first recognize what trigger specific emotional responses in us. Being aware that we get triggered when ‘X’ happens, allows us to prepare ourselves. Then we need to remind ourselves that the intensity of our response likely isn’t caused by the actual event that triggered us, but because our core wound was likely tapped. We then need to breathe to create space and time for our neocortex (our thinking part of the brain) to catch up to allow us to decide how we want to respond, versus just having our emotions take over. Next, we want to start to learn what the connection is between these triggers and our past experiences. What deep emotional wounds are actually being triggered and why? Journaling, mindfulness practices, and self-reflection can help identify patterns and gain insight into our emotional responses.
Add some personalized coping strategies
Developing effective coping strategies can help manage emotional responses when triggers are encountered. Techniques such as deep breathing, grounding exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation can help calm the body's physiological response. Fact-checking and reframing can also be beneficial.
Don't be afraid to seek professional support
For individuals struggling with intense or persistent triggers, seeking support from a mental health professional can be helpful. Therapists can assist in exploring the root causes of triggers, developing coping strategies, and addressing underlying issues.
Work on building up your psychological flexibility and resilience
Building emotional resilience and psychological flexibility involves developing a toolkit of skills and strategies to handle stress and adversity. This includes cultivating healthy relationships, engaging in self-care practices, and developing problem-solving skills. Resilience can help individuals respond to triggers with greater flexibility and emotional stability.
To put it all together, emotional triggers are complex phenomena influenced by past experiences and personal beliefs. By understanding the biological mechanisms behind triggers, recognizing their sources, and implementing coping strategies, we can better manage our emotional responses and enhance our overall well-being.
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