The who, what, when, where, how and why of Triggers

Life takes its toll on all of us. And that toll is often borne out from trauma into triggers, from our minds to our bodies, from our attitudes to our behaviours, at light speed, like a flash on a camera.

That toll, when it was too much for us, is revealed through the visible manifestation of trauma.

The toll is taken,
it’s transmuted into trauma, and
ongoing effect is felt through triggering.

When we’re triggered

When we’re triggered one or more of a number of things can happen, from freezing in thought or action (or both); to fighting through anger which comes more from anguish and utter confusion than through wanting to be violent, because there is an itch that cannot be scratched; to fleeing through all manner of denial, escape to sheer panic attack.

It occurs and we may run without a thought to food or drink or drugs or video games or shopping or some other crutch. Being triggered sets off a chain reaction of responses that seem beyond our control. We run to comfort, no matter the negative consequences of our behaviour.

Being triggered can often feel like and often is borne out of spiritual attack, when we feel threatened, whether the threat is real or not. In actual fact, the very nature of spiritual attack is it’s a threat we cannot see, feel, taste, touch or hear; we sense it in our spirit. It doesn’t get much more disconcerting than that.

Being triggered is scary, because, though we suspect we know what is happening, we can feel hopelessly out of control, we feel exposed and vulnerable, and we may often feel embarrassed and incredibly silly.

When we’re triggered, we hardly recognise or acknowledge that most if not all people have triggers. We may feel as if it’s only us that has this ‘silly’ weakness.

What is a trigger? Why do we have them? Can we lessen their impact?

Well, it’s the body’s adapted physiological response to trauma. Because trauma was unconscionable, and the mind could not cope with it, we developed a way of coping that is far from ideal. When we are triggered (re-traumatised) our minds switch us straight into this learned response.

Tracking back from the triggering is the key to learning what trauma we met in the past and how we might better understand it. When we better understand what sweeps us off our feet by what cut us off at our knees, we have a better chance in future through using our mind to gradually respond better, little by little as we adjust our coping style.

How should we respond when we’re triggered?

These are the nuts and bolts of where we start in reconciling those things that happen that are beyond our control. So, how do we manage our responses to the things we cannot control? Great question!

In the early going, when we’re first discovering what triggers are and how they collapse our world in a second, we need to be gentle with ourselves and take the pressure off ourselves. Inevitably we may find we can talk ourselves through it. A trusted and competent psychologist will help.

As we gain more knowledge about ourselves, and more knowledge about the antecedent trauma, and having accepted it, we’re given ways, through prayer, to respond better, through practice.

Most of all, we need to be reminded that being triggered is not our fault. We are all wired to be able to cope with so much; any more than that, and trauma occurs. It’s therefore not us, but the experiences we had.

Our journey’s in forgiving those experiences and learning how we can respond better.

Where does triggering most often occur?

When we’re feeling unsafe, vulnerable in a situation, or particularly when we’re surprised or didn’t anticipate a thing happening, that’s when a trigger is most likely to occur.

There are places we may go, places associated with trauma, where our mere presence in that place will raise us to alert.

Then there’s a particular person or persons. Those who have threatened us or who have posed as a threat—and this is often the case, when we just discern something is off about a person—are a major cause of triggering.

Sometimes it’s a task that we do, or an activity that brings it on.

And very often it’s the case that all kinds of stimuli can cavort together to bring on a time of triggering.

Whether it’s a situation or a person or a task or anything else, it’s not good to remain in such an environment. Wisdom dictates we’re always better off in safety.

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When we notice someone behaving out of character, or responding without thought or by instinct, in ways that could mean they’re being triggered by their trauma, the compassionate approach is to keep them safe, offer them comfort, to be gentle with them.

I know personally that enduring a season of feeling triggered can leave my body feeling bruised and battered, and most often not physically, but spiritually. Somehow in being triggered repetitively, the body bears the brunt of what we cannot cope with. And to recover, we need time to reconnect with our bodies—our physical self.

Photo by Ariana Prestes on Unsplash