Understanding Our Triggers And Creating An Action Plan Towards Healing
“Avoiding your triggers isn’t healing. Healing happens when you’re triggered and you’re able to move through the pain, the pattern, and the story and walk your way to a different ending” -Vienna Pharaon
Taking the time to gain a deeper understanding of the triggers we develop from past traumas can be an important step in our healing process. Triggers can have a significant impact on an individual’s life. Therefore, it is essential to allocate sufficient time and space to learn how to identify these triggers. By doing so, we can also recognize the associated emotional responses and reactions. This understanding enables us to create an action plan to effectively manage our triggers. Before developing an action plan, it is crucial to grasp the concept of triggers and their origins.
Memories are stored in the brain through the use of our five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. This mechanism allows us to develop triggers from past traumatic experiences and various situations, meaning that almost anything can become a trigger. Triggers serve as a form of protection, alerting our brains to potentially similar adversities in the future. They manifest as stimuli that elicit negative emotional reactions. Given the extensive range of triggers, they can be classified into four main types: internal, external, trauma, and symptom triggers. According to Katherine Ponte from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, these types are defined as follows:
- Internal Triggers: Strong feelings that arise based on past experiences.
- External Triggers: Sounds, sights, smells, and textures that elicit responses based on past experiences.
- Trauma Triggers: Strong feelings that arise based on past trauma.
- Symptom Triggers: A physical change can trigger larger mental health issues.
While triggers may vary, the symptoms they induce differ from person to person. Some common trigger symptoms include anxiety, panic attacks, a sense of emotional instability, difficulty breathing, and flashbacks. It was only a couple of years ago that I realized the triggering effect my father’s anniversary had on me. During the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas, my anxiety and depression intensified as I became easily agitated and argumentative. Although I am not perfect, I have learned to recognize triggers and identify the associated reactions and emotions. Achieving this awareness necessitated paying attention to situations that bothered me and exploring my resulting emotions. Thus, by monitoring my emotions, I have effectively identified my reactions to these triggers. Consequently, I now possess a better understanding of my triggers and have developed an action plan to handle them more effectively in the future.
Avoidance does not eliminate triggers; in fact, it may exacerbate them. By comprehending our triggers, we can formulate a personalized action plan to manage our emotions and reactions. However, the first step in creating such a plan is to secure support in identifying triggers and familiarizing oneself with the accompanying reactions. I highly recommend seeking guidance from professionals who can assist in understanding triggers and reactions. To understand your triggers, you must acknowledge the emotions they elicit.
Allocating time to process these emotional responses can help in the development of healthy coping mechanisms for the future. Maintaining a journal is an excellent method of recording feelings and documenting reactions when triggered. Once you have familiarized yourself with your triggers and the emotions and reactions they may provoke, you can begin to consider effective coping strategies that can assist you in managing future triggers. Examples of such coping mechanisms include engaging in breathwork exercises, engaging in counting exercises, taking brief pauses, and organizing elements in your environment into categories such as color or shape. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for triggers; nonetheless, employing coping mechanisms that work for you can help manage the emotional responses and reactions they evoke.
Triggers originate from past traumatic events and serve as a defense mechanism for our brains against similar future events. However, with support and understanding, one can adopt healthy coping mechanisms to manage emotional responses and reactions. Collaborating with a therapist can greatly aid in comprehending triggers and their origins while working with a Life Coach can assist in formulating an action plan and identifying healthy coping strategies. If you or a loved one is seeking self-growth assistance, please feel free to schedule a free consultation with me through my appointment page. Join me next week as I share some stories to commemorate my father’s life for his 22 anniversary. Always remember, we all can rise from our ashes and soar.
Resources:
Cooks-Campbell, A. (2023, September 22). Triggered? learn how to recognize the feeling and keep it in check. The Most Comprehensive Coaching Platform. https://www.betterup.com/blog/triggers?hs_amp=true#section-three
Pedersen, T. (2022, April 28). Triggers: What they are, how they form, and what to do. Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/lib/what-is-a-trigger#how-triggers-form
Ponte, K. (2022, January 10). Understanding mental illness triggers. NAMI. https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/January-2022/Understanding-Mental-Illness-TriggersRidgeview Behavioral Hospital. (2023, November 14).
How to identify emotional triggers in 3 steps. Ridgeview Behavioral Hospital. https://ridgeviewhospital.net/how-to-identify-emotional-triggers-in-3-steps/