Whenever you've been through trauma, healing can be a very delicate process. You're often feeling as though you're dancing on the edge of a cliff with no way to catch yourself if you fall over the edge and into certain disaster. There is no absolute timeline in regards to healing, there is no perfect way to go about it and you will find that even when you are taking "baby steps" and slowly moving forward, there will still be times when you are triggered.
For the intents and purposes of this blog post, the term "trigger" refers to a common phenomenon that is recognized in the mental health industry as a form of "reliving" your trauma, feeling the urge to do something destructive or self-destructive, feeling as you did during the moments of your trauma, etc. To be triggered means that you are not fully in this moment, where you are now... you are back in old patterns, feelings, situations, etc - that are harmful to you in some form or another.
When going through the process of healing from trauma, it's important to recognize that you have triggers, you will BE triggered, and to know what those triggers are, to the best of your abilities. If you are aware that something is likely to trigger you, you will find it much easier to find ways to cope with that trigger if you are aware of it ahead of time and have an action plan in place to help you cope with your trigger.
For example, two certain men's colognes will trigger my anxiety attacks due to having PTSD from an extremely abusive ex-boyfriend. I might be at the bank, at the grocery store, at a business meeting, etc - and if I smell either of those scents, it "triggers" me. For a few seconds, a few moments, sometimes longer - I am taken back to the years when I was with my ex-boyfriend, all of the abuse I endured by him. I will panic, freeze-up, my heart beats too fast, I get dizzy, etc.
Because I have been aware of this trigger for a long time, I've had years to get to a point of being able to cope with it effectively whenever it happens. I used to turn into an uncontrolled, shaking, messy, crying puddle of mush. Now, I can usually breathe through it and cautiously continue on my way, going about my business with minimal damage. But this wasn't always the case.
I found a couple of "grounding" techniques to keep myself in the present moment that have really helped...
1. Focus on something in your present environment besides whatever is triggering you. An object, a sound, etc. Remind yourself of where you are, then pay attention to the details.
Last time I was triggered by a man's cologne, I was at Wal-Mart in the checkout line. Immediately, I started shaking. I focused intently on a bag of chips in front of me... it was a bag of Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles. I focused on the shape of the bag, the colors on the bag, the outline of the words. Do this until you can breathe easier. Handle the object if you need to, sing along or hum with the music or sound. Keep yourself grounded in the moment.
2. Counting or reciting something.
This might sound like something a "crazy" person would do... it's not. It's simply a technique to help shift your brain into another mode. When you have to recall something else, you aren't as focused on the trigger.
For example, I memorized some poems of Dorothy Parker when I was a teenager. This has come in handy as an adult. I have recited it (either very quietly to myself or just in my own head) when feeling triggered. I end up focusing on what I am reciting and then when I am done, however many times it takes, I find that I have breathed through the large part of my anxiety and tension and all the other negative emotions that came with my trigger.
There's no perfect technique for dealing with your triggers, but what's important that you know them. If something new comes up, make a note of it and try to decide how you will handle it positively in the future.
The more you can work through your triggers, the less triggering they become. Until eventually, you won't mind that someone wears their hair the same way as your abuser, you won't care about the cologne someone else is wearing, you won't notice other things that used to be triggering you. You'll find that your anxiety in new situations or similar dynamics no longer scare you, that you will be able to calmly remove yourself from harmful people or situations.
All a trigger really is, is our mind's way of attempting to protect us from something that has already been known to harm us. It is a self-protective mechanism, a survival instinct. Just keep moving and working through it, while being aware that what is triggering you isn't the situation, it's in your past.
As always, if you are frequently triggered and it is disrupting your quality of life, or if you feel like harming yourself or others, please seek the help of a professional immediately.
For the intents and purposes of this blog post, the term "trigger" refers to a common phenomenon that is recognized in the mental health industry as a form of "reliving" your trauma, feeling the urge to do something destructive or self-destructive, feeling as you did during the moments of your trauma, etc. To be triggered means that you are not fully in this moment, where you are now... you are back in old patterns, feelings, situations, etc - that are harmful to you in some form or another.
When going through the process of healing from trauma, it's important to recognize that you have triggers, you will BE triggered, and to know what those triggers are, to the best of your abilities. If you are aware that something is likely to trigger you, you will find it much easier to find ways to cope with that trigger if you are aware of it ahead of time and have an action plan in place to help you cope with your trigger.
For example, two certain men's colognes will trigger my anxiety attacks due to having PTSD from an extremely abusive ex-boyfriend. I might be at the bank, at the grocery store, at a business meeting, etc - and if I smell either of those scents, it "triggers" me. For a few seconds, a few moments, sometimes longer - I am taken back to the years when I was with my ex-boyfriend, all of the abuse I endured by him. I will panic, freeze-up, my heart beats too fast, I get dizzy, etc.
Because I have been aware of this trigger for a long time, I've had years to get to a point of being able to cope with it effectively whenever it happens. I used to turn into an uncontrolled, shaking, messy, crying puddle of mush. Now, I can usually breathe through it and cautiously continue on my way, going about my business with minimal damage. But this wasn't always the case.
I found a couple of "grounding" techniques to keep myself in the present moment that have really helped...
1. Focus on something in your present environment besides whatever is triggering you. An object, a sound, etc. Remind yourself of where you are, then pay attention to the details.
Last time I was triggered by a man's cologne, I was at Wal-Mart in the checkout line. Immediately, I started shaking. I focused intently on a bag of chips in front of me... it was a bag of Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles. I focused on the shape of the bag, the colors on the bag, the outline of the words. Do this until you can breathe easier. Handle the object if you need to, sing along or hum with the music or sound. Keep yourself grounded in the moment.
2. Counting or reciting something.
This might sound like something a "crazy" person would do... it's not. It's simply a technique to help shift your brain into another mode. When you have to recall something else, you aren't as focused on the trigger.
For example, I memorized some poems of Dorothy Parker when I was a teenager. This has come in handy as an adult. I have recited it (either very quietly to myself or just in my own head) when feeling triggered. I end up focusing on what I am reciting and then when I am done, however many times it takes, I find that I have breathed through the large part of my anxiety and tension and all the other negative emotions that came with my trigger.
There's no perfect technique for dealing with your triggers, but what's important that you know them. If something new comes up, make a note of it and try to decide how you will handle it positively in the future.
The more you can work through your triggers, the less triggering they become. Until eventually, you won't mind that someone wears their hair the same way as your abuser, you won't care about the cologne someone else is wearing, you won't notice other things that used to be triggering you. You'll find that your anxiety in new situations or similar dynamics no longer scare you, that you will be able to calmly remove yourself from harmful people or situations.
All a trigger really is, is our mind's way of attempting to protect us from something that has already been known to harm us. It is a self-protective mechanism, a survival instinct. Just keep moving and working through it, while being aware that what is triggering you isn't the situation, it's in your past.
As always, if you are frequently triggered and it is disrupting your quality of life, or if you feel like harming yourself or others, please seek the help of a professional immediately.
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