What a trigger is and isn't

What is a trigger part 2

In my last post, I used a real-life example of a trigger to illustrate the definition. In this post, I'll be a little more black and white.

In mental health terms, a trigger is a stimulus that signals the body, brain, or nervous system that danger is near. Triggers are created from previous conflicts or traumas and are remembered so that the next time the person encounters a similar situation, the body, brain, and nervous system can react and quickly escape the danger. Triggers can be directly related to previous trauma or conflict, can be indirectly related. Almost any sight, smell, sound, or object can become a trigger even things that don't make logical sense. The body and nervous system react to a trigger by activating the sympathetic nervous system and prepare to fight or run.

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Although triggers are disruptive, they are actually good.

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Triggers are actually GOOD and your nervous system uses them to stay safe. When you react to a trigger, your body is doing exactly what it thinks it needs to do to protect you even if it's disruptive to your life, work, or relationships. This is why modalities or drugs that resist or suppress a triggered reaction are almost never effective. Modalities such as SE that understand what the nervous system is trying to do and help it complete the cycle are much more successful. SE works with your body's helpful systems instead of against it.

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What a trigger is not

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A trigger is not simply an emotional reaction, nor is it an irrational one. Consider this scenario: if I borrowed one of your things and returned it broken, you might feel the emotion of anger and yell at me. I might cringe and feel sorry for being irresponsible but in this case, there is no previous trauma or conflict and thus no trigger. In contrast, if your reaction causes me to flashback to a time when I was a child that had broken something and experienced physical abuse by a parent for it, I might react to the situation very differently. Even if I don't consciously remember the particular incident, my nervous system will and will react accordingly. The key is the previous experience.

I hope these posts were useful and helped clear up misconceptions about triggers. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below and as always, I'm here for you on your healing journey.

Much love and many blessings,

Meagan