Something has triggered you and your heart is pounding, your hands are sweating, and your mind is racing with anxiety. Trauma triggers can have a negative impact on your life, but you can lessen it by preparing for them and having a variety of tactics at the ready to manage them.

You have felt the power of an unexpected memory, such as a familiar scent to take you back to a family vacation when you were a child or the ability of a location to trigger flashbacks of your first kiss. However, for people who have trauma in their life, the unexpected recall of memories can drag a person back into a traumatic situation, potentially evoking a similar physical or emotional reaction as in the past. Understanding how to deal with trauma triggers is a critical component of recovering from trauma.

After trauma, you experience a powerful emotional and behavioral reaction when you come across a trigger. It feels like you’re going through the ordeal all over again. Triggers, however, can be terrifying, overwhelming, and seem to appear out of nowhere to people who have suffered trauma.

Trauma is hell on earth. Trauma resolved is a gift from the gods. ~ Peter A. Levine

What Are Trauma Triggers

Trauma triggers can be anything that brings back memories of a traumatic event, such as a particular scent, song or sound, or article of clothing. A person’s triggers are extremely personal to the survivor. It’s well-recognized that trauma affects your mind in a persistent and repeating manner. For those who experience the aftereffects of trauma, there is hope. You can lead a happy and fulfilling life.

At some point in their lives, 70% of adults have gone through a traumatic event. Traumatic experiences can include everything from seeing or experiencing war or violence to child abuse or neglect. Doctors will diagnose 20% of those who suffer trauma with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These triggers cause uneasy emotions or unpleasant memories of the traumatic incident.

Unfortunately, you can’t avoid trauma triggers. Fortunately, there are actions you can take to figure out what triggers your trauma. To keep living a life that you love after trauma, you can also learn how to manage trauma triggers.

Because you cannot stop the intrusive thoughts, your emotions change, and you start to react. You might experience helplessness, panic, unease, and emotional overload because of a trigger. As though you were experiencing the tragedy, you might experience the same emotions that you did at the time.

After a traumatic experience, the human system of self-preservation seems to go onto permanent alert, as if the danger might return at any moment. ~ Judith Lewis Herman

The Trick Of the Ego

Your ego views trauma triggers as threats, which results in an emotional reaction like dread, panic, or agitation. Consider the response to stimuli as a protective mechanism. Your defenses go up against the perceived threat because of being immediately transported back to the traumatic incident. Despite being infrequent, triggers can cause flashbacks. Depending on the person, the severity of how you react when provoked can vary.

Your nervous system may need some time to heal and get back to normal after coming into contact with a trigger. This is because trauma shrinks your emotional window of tolerance, the range in which you feel emotionally stable, in control, and at ease. Stressors are more likely to evoke stronger emotional distress when there is a smaller window of tolerance.

Unlike simple stress, trauma changes your view of your life and yourself. It shatters your most basic assumptions about yourself and your world — “Life is good,” “I’m safe,” “People are kind,” “I can trust others,” “The future is likely to be good” — and replaces them with feelings like “The world is dangerous,” “I can’t win,” “I can’t trust other people,” or “There’s no hope.” ~ Mark Goulston MD.

What To Do When A Trauma Trigger Occurs

Trauma recovery can be difficult and requires time. It could seem like the best approach to deal with it is to ignore it or act as though it’s not happening. Instead of avoiding your trauma triggers, it’s preferable to identify them and figure out how to deal with them consciously.

There are actions you can take even if you’re unsure of what set you off. To calm and control your nervous system after being emotionally overloaded by a trigger, attempt the following steps:

• Keep your attention on the present moment.

• Remind yourself that you can overcome this reaction, which is normal following a traumatic occurrence.

• Practice deep breathing techniques to relax your mind and trigger your autotomic nervous system. Inhale to a count of five, hold for a count of five, and exhale to a count of five.

Instead of saying ‘I’m damaged, I’m broken, I have trust issues.” I say “I’m healing, I’m rediscovering myself, I’m starting over.”  ~ Horacio Jones

Managing Trauma Triggers: A Tool Box

You can control how you react to triggers over time and with practice, making them less disruptive. Here are six strategies to lessen the effects of a trauma trigger.

1. Be conscious of what is occurring; when a trigger response begins, name it. Is it produced internally or externally? What is going on within your body? What are you thinking about? How does it make you feel? Writing in a journal enables you to concentrate on the present rather than the past. Many times, after journaling, the brain is better able to control emotions and balance feelings. You benefit from making room for your emotions and feelings. It can damage your ability to trust others after a traumatic event. A flood of words on paper results from taking the time to write about how you’re feeling right now about the past event. When you release your thoughts and emotions onto the page, you open yourself up for lessening your reaction in the future, because those feelings aren’t all stuffed inside you. Writing in a journal offers a secure setting for growth and reflection on the past. You need to feel secure to move along your healing journey.
2. Be mindful. This emphasizes being able to bring your thoughts into the present. Emotional triggers instantly transport you back in time, so being able to reorient yourself and stay in the present is essential for keeping you from experiencing that painful event. This can help you relax both your mind and body by helping you internalize the idea that a trigger is just that—a trigger—and not a brand-new cause of distress.
3. One of the best methods for reducing stress is to concentrate on taking calm, deep breaths through your mouth and nose. Spending a few seconds concentrating on your breathing might help you release tension and stored energy. However, don’t hold your breath during stressful situations, which can make the situation worse. You can create a general sense of awareness throughout your entire body by remaining present and focusing on your breathing.
4. Remember that you’re recovering from a significant psychological injury and that the process will take time and patience. Be kind to yourself. As you go through this, you must love yourself and pay attention to your needs and stress-relieving activities. Set aside as much time as you can for this type of care, especially when you expect to be in a setting that could cause a reaction.
5. Use grounding strategies, such as putting on a soothing song, holding onto a trusted person, inhaling a perfume that reorients and calms you, or touching a specific object, to anchor yourself in the reality and safety of the current moment (something warm, cold, or textured can also help). Consider these techniques to guide your thoughts out of the unexpectedly dark area where it has wandered.
6. Seek support. It’s essential to recover from trauma, like recovering from any significant injury, under the supervision of healthcare specialists and with the help of close family and friends. Talk about your experiences as much as you can with people you trust, and get help from a coach like myself when you need it. Finding your supporters is perhaps one of the most crucial ideas in dealing with trauma triggers. These are the individuals in your life who show you compassion and empathy. Supportive people serve as a reminder that you have a say and a choice. Your tribe encourages you and serves as a constant reminder of your bravery as you face your difficulties head-on. These are the folks that will love you without conditions.

Trauma creates change you don’t choose. Healing is about creating the change you do choose. ~ Michelle Rosenthal

Moving Forward On Your Healing Journey

No one asks to relive a horrific experience that changed your life. Nor did you ask to have these trauma triggers be in control of your life. Not dealing with your past pain harms both your mental and physical health. You can significantly reduce the frequency of the effects of trauma triggers by utilizing these techniques.

Bad things happen in life, but how you consciously choose to respond to them defines your character and the life you live. You can choose to stay in the darkness and do nothing, or you can rise from the pain and bravely take the next step on your healing journey. Only when you do this, do you give yourself the gift of truly living again.

When you are triggered and can travel through the pain, alter the pattern of behavior, and reframe the story your ego has been telling, you can arrive at a different conclusion. This is when healing occurs. And instead of feeling ashamed, you can feel proud of what you have overcome. The ego doesn’t understand that surviving is beautiful.

There is no timestamp on trauma. There isn’t a formula that you can insert yourself into to get from horror to healed. Be patient. Take up space. Let your journey be the balm. ~ Dawn Serra

Do you need help managing trauma triggers? Are you looking for support to empower yourself to overcome the negative reactions you’re having? Do you want a strategy to help you create an extraordinary life? Consider using my coaching services by contacting me at TerriKozlowski.com. Together, we can create an action plan for you to overcome trauma triggers and help you on your healing journey.

To hear about my full recovery story, you can do so by reading my book, Raven Transcending Fear, available on Amazon, or by visiting RavenTranscendingFear.com.

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Summary

Article Name

Trauma Triggers Take Time To Overcome, But You Have The Power To Do So

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Traumatic memories control the ego. Learn how to empower yourself to overcome trauma triggers so the past doesn't affect you negatively now.

Author

Terri Kozlowski

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Kozmic Soul Solutions LLC

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